Spell it Correctly
by MoonRoseGoddess
Summary: A story of a girl by the name of Hana who is uprooted from her life and goes on a quest to find out who she truly is. On her journey she meets friends, enemies, and love, cutting down anyone in her path who calls her Hanna,& fiercely protecting loved ones
1. Our Story Begins

"Spell it correctly"

_A MoonRoseGoddess Production_

The garden was quiet was an peaceful, the birds sang their sweet songs in the flowing willow trees whose branches lightly brushed the water of the pond with the soft and light breeze coming from somewhere warn. Further down by the fountain, where several golden fish lifted their heads to eat the bread that carelessly fell in, rested a girl, a young woman actually wearing a tae kwon do outfit and a white scarf to match. Her brilliant green eyes were closed for the world to see a she dreamt of a life she never thought she could have.

"Hanasan!" a little voice called in the distance penetrating the dream. "Hanasan where are you?"

The little girl wore a blue kimono and her black hair was neatly pulled back and arranged with different clips but she struggled in her outfit on her way to the fountain where she saw a white figure.

"Hanasan…ouch" she whispered almost tripping on a stone as she held onto a cherry tree blossoming to its glory.

"Hanasan please get up….they are all waiting for you…please" she whined but to no avail as the figure remained motionless and undisturbed.

"Hanasan?" the girl whispered trembling as she shook the white coated shoulder

"Yes. I will get up in just a moment. You should be careful of that rock. I wanted to move it but sensei would not allow it. Go on back to the house Sakura. Will be right there."

"Yes. Hanasan." Sakura bowed and left.

Hanasan finally opened her eyes and stretched like a cat basking in the sweet summer sun. "Hanasan" she laughed to herself. "Well at least that is not the strangest part of my life." She got up and left for the lunch not wanting to be rude to the Nakamuri family that was so generous in letting her and her friend stay.

She was definitely beyond your average traveler in this world. Firstly she was a she, a young woman traveling in a long journey, dressed as man, her only companion Khadija, a young woman her age that she had saved while traveling through Hindustan, following the footsteps of Alexander of Macedon in an effort to reach farther than he had even dreamed. Her journey started unannounced as she was taken from her family by some rogues who thought that she would fetch a fine price as an exotic human being, not seen by the wasteful eyes of the Greeks and Romans that paid well for novelties. She had sat in a cage, through rain and violent storms, peacefully, accepting food and water from her captors and remaining calm unlike her fellow cell mates that continued to cause mayhem.

She was a princess and her mother and father had taught her long ago that patience and calculation was something she should always remember. It was not until her cage was opened and she was pushed onto the auction block that she finally began to act. A little father off some drums began to play a tune and she began to dance a dance of the east, her home. Even though her clothes has lost their clean beauty and the few jewels she was allowed to keep had lost their luster, her body had not lost it's appeal as she danced slowly, hypnotically, making everyone gape at the strangeness and beauty of her pagan dance. The beat of the drums increased and so did the speed of the dance but she had not failed to notice her surroundings during the performance. The man that had kidnapped her was now trying to sell her talking in Greek, her cage stood right behind her, on either side the fat guards with swords smiled at her.

It was now time to put her plan into action. At the pinnacle of the song she jumped onto her cage and grinned at one of the guards leaning over as if to kiss him but instead taking his sword. This, as she had predicted, cause a tension from the guards but she was in no hurry to simply set herself free. She needed to leave them dumbfounded enough so they would not be able to catch up to her as she ran away. Again the music sped up and she began to dance with the sword making elegant patterns in the air as she threw it about and caught it.

The bid for her was becoming frantic as men in togas shouted the price they wanted to pay. She threw the sword into the air toward the crowd and jumped off the block to catch it, spinning several times before the blade landed in her palms, seemingly unchanged but she smiled because it had just cut the rope that bonded her hands enough to appear whole but only a little tug necessary to set her free. Now she needed to release her feet.

The crowd gasped as she began spinning, the sword high above her. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the guards trying to move through the crowd toward her. She spun harder finally thrusting the sword into the earth, cutting the rope connecting her legs and leaning over it as the crowd began to cheer, some even throwing coins. She smiled picking up the coins, noting that the guards were getting closer and closer.

"Thank you my good people" she said in fluent Greek with barely a hint of an accent.

The crowd began to whisper amongst themselves and clapping, some calling for an encore.

"I hope you have enjoyed this performance. I will be here tomorrow….Good bye" She ran through the crowd that eagerly parted for her and closed before the guards could even get to her. The shouts behind her told her that the auctioneer was not so pleased with the outcome but that didn't matter. She had to get away. She had to go home and she regretted not listening to her mother when she said she shouldn't go to visit her uncle in Egypt.

"How is your training Hanasan with sensei?" Mr. Nakamuri asked, a pleasant smile framing his aging face.

"Very well thank you. I think that I will continue on my travels soon. Sensei has said that I am ready to move onto the next step in my life. I thank you again for your hospitality"

"It is we who thank you for such an honour."

"Has Khadija come back from her trip to the market?" she asked frowning at the possibility of more delays.

"She has gone there with sensei. To guess when they will be back is like to hope that your cherry trees will blossom gold. It might in colour but not reality."

"True"

"I am telling the truth!" she shouted at the burly man who refused her passage on his ship.

"No one is allowed to see such a man and aren't you that slave girl who ran away?"

"No. I am Princess Hana."

"I've never heard of her. Now go away before they catch you."

_Please Read and Review. Tell me what you think. More to come soon. **MRG**_


	2. The Tides of Change

The rice paper door was gently opened by a gray haired man and a smiling young woman carrying several neatly wrapped packages.

"Sensei, Khadija. We had hoped you would make it in time." Mr. Nakamuri smiled and helped them with the packages, putting them aside on the table.

"Oh don't lie Nakamuri…you were betting that it would take us at least 4 centuries to be back" Sensei laughed and picked up his bowl of steaming rice

"The thought had crossed our minds"

"Hana" Khadija giggled "you will not believe what we found. I cannot wait to show you"

"Patience Khadija, patience. After we have enjoyed the food you may present the gifts to everyone" Sensei warned

Khadija beamed in joy and Hana briefly smiled still thinking over her life.

"Still troubled by the memories of your past little Hanasan? Or not little anymore?" the all knowing sensei asked, his gentle eyes sparkling in the sun of midday.

"A little yes. My memory triggers with phrases that are spoken around me. It washes over me like a flood and then disappears."

"A curious metaphor"

"Although the waves that engulf me are far large and powerful to be called a flood"

"Your words remind me of the river that you once spoke of…the Nile it was called?"

"Yes. It is the river that runs through Egypt were I was supposed to got to visit my uncle but failed"

"Yes, yes I recall you telling me about that. With crocodiles and all matter of strange creatures there. Your other waves seem to be tsunamis calling on you"

"What are you saying Sensei?" She asked crooking a perfect eyebrow that made the man laugh at how well he had taught this girl to see through people's words and actions.

"I think that it is time for you to go to the place that you were once called. Fate had brought you here to learn the lessons that would help you in your task, a place that you were supposed to go but failed to arrive. It is time to arrive."

"Truly?" Hana beamed

"Truly so. Khadija I think that it is time for you to give the gift which we had purchased."

Khadija got up, momentarily wishing she had a tae kwon do outfit like her dear friend Hana instead of her new kimono but she could not resist the splendor and the intricacy of the design and the amazing colours it had, she picked up the packages and gave one to each person sitting at the table including one for herself and sensei.

The food lay forgotten as everyone eagerly opened their gift, the Nakamuri family was very much honored and repeated "thank you" at least twice every five minutes but Hana sat silently, still holding the neatly wrapped gift as did her sensei while Khadija was smothering the old man with hugs for the wonderful book the gave her and the precious silks. As the people around the table calmed down the Sensei gently unwrapped the gift that Khadija had bought for him. A precious cargo of little scrolls secured on a miniature reed boat.

"Thank you so very much my dear Khadija. You certainly know how to humor and old man in his obsession with scrolls. I will treasure it for ever. Now you, Hanasan, open your gift. I hope that it is to your liking as well."

The little ties gave way under her hands and the paper practically unwrapped itself. Inside was a bundle of plain silks in many colours but as she separated them, she found that within that cocoon of colour lay a miniature of her sensei's samurai sword.

"I knew that you appreciated it the first day that I had demonstrated my skills of the sword. I hoped to give you one to be a secret weapon and a memento of the time you had spent here"

"Thank you so much Sensei."

"And that is not all. I have bought you and Khadija a passage today to take you to the main land so you can begin a new journey, one that will take you home."

Hanasan and Khadija settled down on the boat and waved their last goodbyes to the receding shore. It is hard to leave a place that you had called home even if it was not the place of your birth. Hana felt that she had learned a lot there and she owed a great deal to her sensei, but he was right, she was not the one to sit around her whole life going to temples, practicing calligraphy and the rules of samurai battle. It had been so many years since she had seen or heard her people. She wondered for a moment if her family was missing her as much as she had missed them.

She could recall her horrible journey from Greece, followed by the guards and shadows everywhere trying to catch her so she could be sold. It was hard at first to be accustomed to the lack of respect she would receive on the streets, of course she was not seen as a princess and her rag like clothes did nothing to alleviate that horrible notion but the calls from men she would receive drove her to finding alternate means of dress and she began a simple ritual of assimilation every time she passed through a different city. What became as a way to alleviate the unwanted attention she received turned into a matter of survival.

The boat rocked violently with a storm that came out of nowhere when just an hour ago, they had seen the land they deemed to reach. Khadija and Hana both held onto the mast ropes with all their strength as waves crushed onto the deck and soaked them mercilessly with salty water.

"Tsunami!!!" one of the sailors called in terror as a gigantic wave covered the boat like god's hand.

Suddenly everything went dark. Hana and Khadija managed to grab onto each other at the last moment before ship was pulled to the bottom of the ocean, with it the many men that came on this voyage. The water was crushing them but they still struggled up to the surface where the wind blew with icy force. Farther away, lightning broke out and struck the water, the sky was illuminated by blinding light and the heavy thunder roared above. The two girls desperately tried to remain afloat, but the weight of their clothes and belongings was pulling them down. It was not worth the effort to keep useless trinkets like soaked food and broaches when your life is hanging in an unpredictable balance that could sway either way at the blink of an eye. Khadija dropped her bags and heavy outer Kimono, thankful that she had put on more clothes than she needed, expecting a cold night, and only left her handkerchief, tied tightly around her belt. Hana was dually glad of wearing her light tae kwon do outfit and only left the miniature sword with her because where ever they managed to appear, it would most likely not be short of danger. The waves began to calm and lull the two girls to sleep despite their effort to stay awake.

The waves gently hit the soft beach; a little boy was walking about in shorts and a straw hat picking up the shells that littered the shore as he hummed a little tune his mother taught him. The water was warm and the boy ran through the foam until he abruptly stopped before the two bodies lying limply in the sun, the waves beating against their motionless bodies.


	3. Time Lost, Change Found

Hana moaned into her soft pillow as she tried to wake up but found her body too exhausted to respond. The lids of her eyes seemed to be as heavy as stones so she focused her hearing remembering how her sensei had taught her to listen to every breath. There was not much to hear in particular, the course material was flapping gently in a whispering breeze, further some birds chirped and bathed in a fountain whose powerful jet of water seemed to be disturbing the nearby carps that swam bored in circles lifting their heads above the surface to take a breath of air. Hana sighed as if a great weight had been lifted off her; she could hear Khadija's soft snoring right by her side. Gathering the last of her strength she opened her eyes a bit and tried to focus her hazy vision. Her friend was indeed by her side in this strangely coloured room, a colour of sand above them were strange things that circled like vultures over prey. Nothing in this room made sense but what was clear was that they had survived; they were alive no matter the strange circumstances. Her effort to remain awake was beginning to be too much and Hana allowed her tired body to cascade back down into dreamless sleep.

"Is she alright?" a strange looking man asked in a language the sleepy travelers could not understand.

Hana woke first to these strange people. Their clothes, hair and everything about them seemed either ridiculous or just strange. The man wore some kind of glass put near his eye as he spoke to another man who looked similar and the servant behind him, his silver hair neatly trimmed and a mustache to match.

"I think she is fine Mr. Anders. I hope she is not daft but she at least appears to be of some mind. You see how she is trying to study me and trying to understand what I am saying? Do inform me when she says something understandable" the old man said taking a bag with him

"Thank you so much Doctor Irem. Feel free to go to the kitchens, my staff will provide you with some nourishment after you had spent so much time caring for these two unfortunate creatures"

"Thank you and I wouldn't call them unfortunate…they are at least fortunate to have survived." The man left, closing the door behind him with a soft click, leaving an awkward silence between the inhabitants of the room.

"Do…I mean….Um….Where...What is your name?" Mr. Anders finally decided on asking.

Hana and Khadija looked to each other and then back at the blond haired man, completely confused. His words did not make any sense. Khadija started picking at the gown she was wearing.

"What is this?" Khadija asked playing with the delicate sleeves of a chemise.

"I have no idea…it is like a gown of some sort but I have never seen such strange outfit and why does it have bits of fabric everywhere sewn into ripples?" Hana asked pushing back her covers to find even more lace on the bottom.

Mr. Anders rubbed his face and looked at his servant who shrugged confirming that he couldn't understand a word of what they were saying.

"Do you speak English?" he asked "No, no…I mean no harm…I am just trying to communicate with you" he added when Hana jumped off the bed and grabbed the miniature sword pointing it in his direction.

"Hablas Espanol? Parle Angle?" He sighed as there was no response.

He turned to his servant and gave him some orders in Urdu but almost jumped back when he heard the two girls laughing along with the servant. Apparently even years of learning a language and he still made silly mistake. Wait!! They understood and hopefully that would be a means of at least some kind of mutual understanding.

"Can you understand me?" Mr. Anders asked in Urdu, his English pronunciation of words making everyone in the room smile.

"You're strange" Khadija said ready to double over with laughter.

"We can understand you. A few words sound differently but we can understand. Who are you?" Hana asked, always on task, never forgetting what she set out to do.

"I would like to ask you the same."

"I am Hana and this is Khadija. You are?"

"Mr. James Anders of Wales. Hannah and Kadhija"

"No! Hana and Kha-Di-Ja!"

"Hannah and Khadija. Is that right?"

"Hana!"

"Hannah??" Mr. Anders asked unsure why she kept correcting him, it all seemed the same to him.

"Wales? What is this Wales you speak of?" Hana asked wondering where they were exactly and giving up for now on teaching him the preferred pronunciation of her name.

"England. At least you have heard of that."

Hana and Khadija both shook their heads confused.

"I am British" he tried to clarify.

"Britannia? I know of that country. Have you expelled the Romans yet or are you still fighting them?"

"Romans?? The Romans have been gone for centuries…Why would there be any Romans?"

"How…strange." Khadija muttered and then looked to Hana who looked blanched.

"Hana? Dear, what is wrong?" Khadija asked holding her friends shoulder.

"Who rules Greece and Rome?"

"Their governments….why?"

"And Egypt? Who is the pharaoh there?"

"The mummy's you mean. I don't know they are selling them for firewood. There is no ruling pharaoh, there hasn't been for hundreds of years."

"And Hindustan? Who rules it?"

"The East India Trading company of course who else would rule it? Their government was too weak and we took over but that was years ago."

"Hana what is going on?" Khadija stared at her friend.

"Speak to me in the language of our sensei" Hana ordered

"What is going on? You look as white as the strange gowns we are wearing."

"We are not in our time any more. I don't know how it happened but we seemed to have skipped centuries, it is all gone, everything, everyone."

"That is impossible," she rebutted, barely believing her ears. Stepping away from her friend she sat down on her bed and picked up a pillow to hug for comfort.

"Look at us and then look at them. They do not dress like we do and you heard him, everything had changed. When were on the island, none of this was true because we were in our time. It must have been the tsunami…"

"And the lightning that struck the water."

"Yes, that too."

"So what are we to do now? If everything has changed, how are we to live?"

"First we should make that trip to Egypt to find out what is going on, maybe find out what happened to our families and even perhaps how to go back." Hana said firmly, her mind made up, unwilling to entertain the thought of uncertainty.

"What about after Egypt? What if we don't find anything there?"

"One step at a time."


	4. Some One For You

"You know I am really starting to like this century. The people are funny but the clothes are nice." Khadija giggled spinning in her dress admiring how the skirts flared about her.

Hana sat stubbornly on her bed, leaning against the frame, picking the lace on a pillow "I am still going to wear my tae kwon do outfit. How are we supposed to run or defend ourselves if we are wearing these…these heavy burdens??" she pouted and crossed her arm refusing to put on the dress that was placed in front of her.

"Were you not the one that told me we must blend into our environments?" Khadija started as she fiddled with her hair before a mirror.

"Yes" Hana replied but realized where this was headed and sighed when she knew it was a loosing battle for her

"And are we not in a situation that requires that?" Khadija smiled at her reflection.

"Yes…but look at this? It's unpractical"

"I don't care you will wear it anyway" Khadija said smiling at her friend who reluctantly looked at the dress.

"You sound like my mother." Hana giggled.

Her mother…It had been so long since she thought of her and not just her but her whole family. Her father, her sisters and brothers but she was definitely not missing the suitors. You could call her parent traditionalist but during that time who was not following the same patter of thought; being free was too radical a thought and marriage for love…was like an insanity that could only be cured by death or a good whipping. Nobody seemed to care for the feelings of the person that was subjected to this, that is not to say that there was no love. Parents loved their children, siblings loved each other but very rarely did the parents have a warm feeling toward their partner. It was always about business. There was fuss over the dowry, the giving of the bride, the want of some position or other with the leaders of the town, favors, all business and nothing more. No one even asked the bride if she liked her groom to be, and even he barely had any say in what he wanted…sometimes.

Hana cold recall her mother's story how her father picked her out of a bunch of girls because she was the pretties and was the best behaved. Sadly these kind of tender moments were mostly shared while Hana was being scrubbed, dressed up, perfumed and then forced to join a party of relatives and strangers where there would be dozens of bachelors running about searching for a pretty girl. Hana was the pretties of the lot of them, she hid behind her scarf to hide it but it was never enough. There were suitors that begged to have her as their bride but as her mother said "This girls acid tongue would kill the man that would even love her" Hana scoffed at every suitor that came near her, making them look like fumbling idiots and we all know no man wants to look like an idiot beside his wife. After these gatherings there would be a very long course of lecture and then punishment, no new books for a month.

She found herself in the middle of the family with nothing to complain about except sometimes of the lack of attention her parents gave in their busy routine days or the lack of faith they sometimes held toward her in controlling her life. She was the middle child with every kind of sibling possible. An older brother and sister and a younger brother and sister and she was right there in the middle of it but it at least never was lonely. During the days of her punishment, her younger siblings would sneak into her room and hide behind the curtains as a guard came to the door and asked why he heard three different voices.

"I was just practicing for the story time. You know how small ones like it when I use different voices for each character" Hana said seemingly serious.

The guard merely bowed and closed the door, knowing full well that the children were already there, especially when he closed the door and the room erupted in laughter. Yet that laughter would cease eventually when they would have to leave and Hana would be left in a luxurious bedroom, lying on silk pillows, a golden cage for a prized song bird.

"Hana" her mother called opening the door.

Hana brushed her hand over her face trying to wake up. "Yes, mum."

"Get up child and brush that mess of hair on your head. We have a surprise for you." She smiled but Hana could remember that all knowing smile. It was the same smile that told her that her parents had given up on marrying her older sister and she was next in line. After and exhausting hour of arguing, after which she was punished for her poor behaviour, they merely said that her sister had a good head on her and for now while she was focusing on her studies, did not need the distractions of marriage unlike their little rebellious and headstrong Hana.

"You are not trying to marry me off are you?"

"Get dressed and come to the dinning hall immediately!" Her mother said impatiently and stormed off in a flurry of silk.

Hana simply looked at her mother's receding image and then stared at the tapestries that hung over her head. Why couldn't she just be left alone? All that she wanted was some adventure in her life, she wanted to see more of the world before she found herself chained to her house and husband caring for a dozen children. A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of it and she got dressed as her mother told.

"Khadija stop flirting with him!" Hana whispered and her friend flushed at the thought of the Urdu speaking servant that helped care for them and teach them English.

"I am not!" she weakly countered.

"You are, so stop trying to deny it. I just want you to be careful that's all…You do not even know him"

"Of course I know him and so do you and we have been here for two weeks already learning their language and such."

"I hope you do no mind if I correct you on this matter. I have been learning the language, you have been chasing him!"

Finally her barriers were broken "But look at him…he is so handsome and he has been so very kind to us."

"Under Mr. Anders request may I remind you?"

"I think he fancies me"

"I think you fancy him too much and that might get you into trouble."

"I think you need to find someone to fancy."

"Just be careful" Hana said to her friends receding form as the man she distrusted took Khadija's hand into the crook of his arm and led her to the gardens. "And I don't need anyone," she added to herself.

Little did she know that someone meant for her was just getting started on his own adventure of a lifetime.

"What have you done to him?" An American quivered seeing his friend devoid of eyes or tongue whimpering limply in the arms of the Medjai.

"We saved him! We saved him before the creature could finish him!" Ardeth Bay spoke fiercely cursing the day he let one man live and dare the sands. He survived and now he had unleashed something that could end the world.


	5. Panic, My Friend

**_Thank you to all who have read my story/ read my story and reviewed...lol. I really appreciate it. Thanks also to my friends who inspire me. Hope you enjoy Ch 5. MRG_**

* * *

"We will be leaving for India in just a few days" Mr. Anders said looking over his papers that were haphazardly placed on his cherry wood desk.

"How many of us are coming?" Hana asked devoid of emotion trying not to glare at the Urdu speaking servant, Azan, who was making Khadija giggle at the moment.

"A whole boatload actually, but I believe you meant the staff?"

"Yes."

"All of us that are in this room, you, Khadija, Azan, myself and then my son and several servants. All in all about eight or nine people."

Hana nodded but remained in her seat facing Mr. Anders as she saw that he was trying to ask her something but was very reluctant about it, probably trying not to start any quarrels.

"Where are you headed? I mean after we go to India and such…Where are you trying to get to?" He finally asked taking a sigh of relief after finally having said what was on his mind for some time.

"Egypt. I had an uncle there and I was hoping to find his family and figure a few things out that are not particularly clear" she said and stopped refusing to delve deeper into the subject.

"Sadly that is not our final destination but I do know someone who might be able to take you to Greece and from there you could find your way to Egypt." He suggested smiling briefly as if to apologize for not being able to assist them further.

"Thank you very much Mr. Anders. We greatly appreciate your help. Thank you again." Hana said still giving a quick glance at her friend hand clasped with Azan and sighing lightly not willing to express her anger.

An hour later, Mr. Anders rushed into the parlor where Hana was reading the book and Khadija was trying to sew while Azan whispered sweet nothings in her ear.

"Is everything alright Mr. Anders?" Hana asked without even glancing from her book, her senses very sharp, her face lucid in concentration while listening to his heavy breathing and stammering steps and putting all that into a crystal picture that did not seem too bright.

"We are leaving now!" He said breathlessly. "There is a revolt by the peasants; they are storming the buildings and burning them down. I cannot risk my child's life. Our ship departs in two hours time. Get everything you could possibly carry and follow me!" He left the room as quickly as he had appeared. Khadija and Azan seemed stunned but Hana was surprisingly unaffected. She calmly closed her book getting up from the lush sofa and stood by the book case wondering if she could take this with her.

"Khadija, do you think Mr. Anders will mind if I take this with me. If the books are to be burned here at least I can save this one and that way I will not have to search for another copy."

Azan sharply got up "Are you mad? Did you hear what he just said? How can you be so calm?"

"Would you prefer that I panic? That would honestly do no good. Come Khadija, we will pack our things." Khadija mutely followed her dearest friend to the room and although passing some of the servants a few had appeared to be stunned like Khadija was at the present, many were uselessly panicking running in bouts of hysterics, ripping their hair out when they should be getting ready to leave.

Hana could not ignore the terror in those people's eyes and she began to recall the days that made her immune to such outbursts of jumbled emotion. Panic it seems had been a friend and enemy at the same time for her.

It was a friend when it distracted others so she could escape the palace walls and see real life, running through the busy yet somewhat dangerous streets and bazaars. She was just fifteen years old and her older sister was learning archery, it appeared more like showing off to Hana but she had learned that arguing with older sisters was futile, especially with her sister who was mothering her everyday with rules and criticism.

"Very good princess." The old man said to Hana's older sister as she aimed at the target of vases a hefty distance way. "Are you paying attention Hana?" He growled seing the girl stare out of the palace window toward the city streets just a little way away.

"Yes. I am," Hana said sulkily returning her gaze back to her sister. Her sister was almost perfect in every way; highly accomplished, smart beautiful and most importantly first born daughter to add to any great marriage proposal several of which were neatly placed on their father's desk just this morning.

"Now aim and when you feel ready, let go princess" the old man said and she nodded, her strong fingers beginning to test the remaining flexibility of the ancient bow, carved by a nobleman who eagerly offered it as a gift to her.

Hana rolled her eyes at pure unfairness of being middle born; not really called princess as either of her sisters, not getting those rich gifts or any particular suitor which usually gravitated away from her anyway as she made it clear what she thought of him and his proposal. There she was sitting on a pillow waiting for older sister to take her turn and do something perfectly while her younger sister, the little Angel princess was running about the gardens pampered by everyone.

The bow shot the arrow with dire precision as it flew straight, aimed for the center of the rose coloured vase, unfortunately a servant was walking right behind the delicate porcelain when it shattered barely slowing the arrow. The servant lay sprawled on the ground unmoving but gave an agonizing moan just as people began to crowd around her form. The old man had a sheen of sweat on his brow, petrified of being blamed for killing an innocent woman, perhaps the king will not blame him, perhaps it would be forgotten. The girl was petrified, her hands holding a golden pot full of red flowers that scattered around her body in a beautiful cascade worthy of a masterpiece as she fell. The pot was taken away and as they examined it, they noticed the tail of the arrow sticking out. The arrow had stopped and the girl lived because of a golden flower pot, but this is not what Hana had waited to find out. As soon as she saw that the poor thing was fine, she took her chance to run to the kitchens and escape to the market, where she had longed to go for weeks but was unable to because her mother did not trust her to have nothing to do and rightly so considering what she was doing right now.

The sun shined above as if winking to her in her disguise borrowed without permission from the clothes rack of some servants. It would be returned, but much later. Hana almost ran with joy toward the bazaar but had to stop when she saw the royal guard looking back and forth at the passerby's to make sure that none would try to sneak in. She tried to tiptoe in but the guard grabbed her clothes.

"Where do you think you are going Hana?" He asked and she could feel his triumphant smile of not letting her get away…again.

"I don't know any Hana" she feebly answered but he pulled the hood way to reveal her palace pale face.

"I cannot let you go. Your father has heard of your expeditions and has ordered double the guard just to keep an eye out for you."

Hana crossed her arms, pouting adorably but he would not be swayed. "How did you know it was me Ali?"

He laughed, his hand reaching to touch the elegantly long earrings she was wearing. "You wear enough gold that any hungry thief will be able to hear you a town away. Now back to the palace."

Hana touched her ears in memory and shrugged off the cold feeling that was coursing through her body as the boat sped through the dark waters. She didn't want to think about Ali and what had happened to him. It was too early, perhaps too late or just unbelievable.


	6. In Between Bouts of Panic

They were almost in India but time had stopped for the ship as it tirelessly went on. The people didn't change only the surroundings once in a while. It began to rain heavily and the still distressed passengers of the ship decided to head inside but inside the tensions between them were almost too much to bear. Hana ignored several women who tried to usher her into the over heated belly of the ship where people squabbled over space and argued over what really happened that caused the revolt, but that didn't really matter to them, they were leaving, running away from their problems in a flurry of panic.

Hana momentarily took her eyes off the jolting waves made by the boat below to see if anyone was still outside perhaps standing underneath the extended roof like she was but she was met but dire silence and emptiness. She gave a wry smile at times she felt as silent and empty as her surroundings only her dear friend, Khadija, brining her back but a cold echo still remains.

"Land ahead" a cabin boy called rushing to the captain to tell him the great news. Hana squinted her eyes and could see the looming outline of the shore hidden partially by fog that was lifting.

"We are almost there." She said happily to herself feeling her spirits lift.

A canteen fell loudly onto the floor and Hana turned her attention to the mysterious person who made that noise. She tiptoed toward the origin and the muffled voices began to get clearer.

"You said you loved me!!" the man whispered harshly as female began to whimper as if in pain.

"But why are you doing this?? I told you that I don't want this…stop it let go of my hand you are hurting me" she pleaded.

Hana's hand began to reach within her clothes for her samurai dagger to get ready for a confrontation.

"Don't you love me Khadija?? I thought you loved me. You said you did, why can't you show it?" His voice was coaxing but with a hint of danger that Hana could not ignore. Her instinct about Azan was right and now here he was hurting her friend in a hidden corner. This she would not allow.

"Let me go Azan. I will call Hana and she will take care of you if you don't." Khadija threatened with childhood fear.

"Your friend Hana only puts up a strong front. She will die before I will, she can't defend herself and she clouds your mind. Can't you see that she is trying to break us apart? It is either me or her. Make your choice!"

"Her. Without doubt her! She never hurt me like you are right now, she is a true friend. Now let go!" Khadija began to fight him but he restrained her further making her cry out of fear.

Hana's hand clasped Azan's neck painfully and his hands immediately released Khadija as he tried to set himself free from the iron grip.

"You will never touch a woman like that again. You will never hurt any living being like that again. You will never seek me or Khadija out again because if you do the fate you will have will be short lived."

"Damn you! This is not your business, stay out!"

"This is my business because this is my friend and I am here to watch out for her and now I would like to say good bye to you" Hana finished and threw him over board.

Azan landed with a splash into the water yelling profanities that would be best forgotten.

"Won't he drown?" Khadija asked running to her dearest friend and savior, holding her arm for comfort.

"No. We are just a little off the land. He won't have trouble swimming there. He'll live but most importantly he will never come near you again and he will never hurt you."

"Oh Hana" she began to cry hugging her friend. "I really thought that he liked me. He told me he liked me and I believed him. Oh I am so sorry that I was such a fool. I don't know what to do or what to think anymore."

"Shush…it is alright my dear. I am here. I tried to warn you, I just wanted you to be careful. There are many people in this world that would easily take advantage of an innocent soul like you. You can't trust people with such an open heart. You need to eat a grain of salt with then to know them truly, living through the good days and bad."

"We have done that and that is why you are my dearest friend. Thank you Hana and I promise to be more careful next time."

"We will be at your home soon. Everything will be alright." Hana whispered looking at the horizon where trade could be seen, the people going on with their daily lives unaffected by the revolt from which they had all just ran away.

Eat a grain a salt, a proverb Hana heard from a Russian trader while traveling past the Caspian Sea on her way to Persia in hope of getting back home. Home seemed so far away and their comforts so unnecessary but Hana was at the moment becoming worried about how her parents would react to her belated appearance at their palace. Would they be mad, happy or would they be happier if she had died and they would not be dishonoured by their daughter's long disappearance? She found herself at the crossroads, one would lead her to Persia and her home, the other to the adventure she longed and India where she had longed to go. Her fists balled as she struggled with her decision.

"Have you heard of those royals down in Ulan?" A woman asked the man who was buying her dried goods.

"No, what happened?" He asked obviously interested as Hana was when she began to crouch closer to the stand and listen in.

"It appears that their middle daughter's caravan was attacked and so they searched for her but found most of the people dead. Came back to their palace gave her a short funeral ceremony and that's that. Now the Princesses are the most valued prospective wives all thanks to the disappearance of their middle sister. Seems that they are better off without her, sad what happened to the girl though. It would probably hurt to hear that her family didn't care at all for her."

Hana felt tears fall down her face. It did hurt, it hurt more than the ropes that bound her hands and tore her away from her family. She had know that she was burden sometimes with her stubbornness but for her family to care so little was a terrible news, news that helped make her mind up. She was going to India. Hana looked at this, anger over this rejection coursing through her veins; this is what she wished for once a long time. She is finally free and independent. She can now fulfill her dreams and she does not need to worry about them. She bit her lip; they could even be dead to her as she was to them right now.

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**_A little teaser:"Things are not what they seem"_**

**_I hope that you liked this new chapter._**

**_ MRG_**


	7. The Fragile Warrior

Hana and Khadija parted with Mr. Anders after he had introduced them to his friend who agreed to take them to Greece through a land route by way of train that would speed them through the various cities in days instead of months. Hana was happy that they would not be traveling by caravan. Last time that happened she was met by disaster but she would not think about it now, Khadija was eager to explore the places of her childhood and dwelling on the past for now was not an option, something best left for the train ride.

Khadija squealed in delight when she saw the old temples still in their places, some of the palaces at least partially the same although time had left its mark on the fading colour and the structures that were there since everything changed.

"I cannot believe it Hana, barely a thing has changed and it has been centuries."

"That is amazing" she said in awe recalling running through the same tight alley way with Khadija. "Where do you want to go?"

"Well I will never go to my old home as I had promised so long ago but…I think that we should go to the old temple. Remember that is where we hid from them."

"Let's go then."

They rushed through the streets, the same warm air blowing on their faces as it had centuries ago. They ran past the peddlers and traders until they reached the jungle. This is where they had to be careful, even if the people they feared were dead, their ghosts may still be alive or worse, their reincarnations.

"I wonder if they still feed the monkeys there. It was always so much fun watching them play." Khadija wondered dreamily.

"What was fun was when they kept pulling on Ashanti's hair all the time."

"Oh yeah…that was great. I wonder what happened to her…"

"Do you think that they might have records of some sort at the temple?"

"They did before but so much time has passed."

"If they do then we might find out what happened to them all and see who got their just desserts."

"Sounds devilishly pleasing, I can't wait."

The temple was covered with assorted foliage and ancient vines, some of the rocks that lined the foundation breaking away and the majestic beauty of the statues almost forgotten.

"Time is harsh" Hana said remembering the splendor that once stood there

"Who are you?" a boy carrying a spear and wearing a ceremonial headdress asked.

"We are visitors to the temple little boy. Could you step aside?" Khadija asked getting back the strength she once lost here.

"No one is supposed to enter this temple is only for the ruler's family of this province"

"And their family name is?" Khadija asked hoping that someone had overthrown the Jahanshahs that were the reason she had to run for her life.

"Jahanshah"

"Greattt" Hana said rolling her eyes at the boy who nervously gripped his spear "So those creeps are not gone yet."

"You may not misuse the name of our ruler"

"Your ruler is probably no more than a stick used for measuring and useless when around people." Hana replied making Khadija giggle.

"Are you going to make this easy or hard boy?" Khadija asked with a grin on her face.

"I will not let you pass and if you move any further, I will be forced to attack you"

"Look at that Hana, he's threatening me. Do you mind if I take care of this?"

"Be my guest. He's asking for it." Hana said stepping aside.

Khadija began making a sound of meditation taught to her by sensei while circling the boy who began to shake. Finally she stared him right in the eyes and hit his hand which held the spear making him drop it but she wasn't done yet. As he made an effort to grab it she hurtled it in the air and caught it twisting it about her body finally standing in warrior pose with the spear a breath away from his face.

"Please don't hurt me..." he whimpered and then ran away leaving Hana and Khadija laughing until their sides were sore.

"That was beautiful Khadija. You really should do that more often. You fight brilliantly."

"It's fun to do that. Something about bout being here just gives me so much strength"

"I think that he might have done something involuntary and messy by the looks of it and you just had some fantastic moves. I would think twice about standing in your way."

"Why thank you darling Hana. Did you see his face?"

"I never thought he would not even be able to defend himself properly. He just stood there like a mute fish. Guess they don't train them as well as they should."

"But these are Jahanshahs remember…they had never trained anyone well unless it was truly necessary and apparently this temple is kept just for show."

"Let's see who is inside."

They walked up the crumbling steps into the temple when a monkey suddenly jumped out of no where onto Khadija's head.

"Hello Monkey. Could you get off now?" Khadija asked but the creature only made "uhahahaa" sounds and went on to play with her hair.

Hana smiled at the fuzzy creature. "You need more visitors to tease don't you?"

"Who is it?" An old man asked slowly walking into the light putting pressure of his faulty leg onto an old carved staff. He limped forward, his tired form seeming exceedingly malnourished.

"Are you well?" Hana asked concerned over his state.

"Do you need some help?" Khadija offered seeing how he struggled to move forward and feed the monkeys that began jumping at his feet including the one that was on Khadija's head.

"You don't need to worry about an old creature like me" he said with and aged smile "when my time is spent here, I will join the circle of reincarnation and move on in life. What have you come here to find out my children?"

"We want to know what happened to the rulers of this province." Khadija said and gave the old man a hand as he moved to sit on a stone bench meant for the scholars for time of debate.

"The youngest Jahanshah, who is much better than his father and brothers, is in Athens, Greece and will be going to Delphi where the ancients of the other world live in a nation from where Alexander of Macedon came."

"We meant to the rulers that were usurped by the Jahanshahs and the fate of Ashanti" Hana corrected.

"That is history forgotten by all…"he said rubbing his bad leg "by all except me. After the siege by the Jahanshahs and the killing of the family before them, they went to search for one of the members that escaped. She became known as Khadija, the fragile warrior, since it was believed that her family tried to keep her safe as a precious flower but the child was strong and when time came to fight, she was at the fore front. I was told by my father and he by his and so on and so forth through generations that Khadija had met a strange warrior just a week before with whom she managed to escape with and hide in this very temple" He said gesturing to the now crumbling surroundings. "They had fought but when the battle came against them, they had no other choice. In the temple, Ashanti was hiding herself but that did not save her as it had saved the two women warriors. After they had managed to leave this jungle and disappear on a boat, the girl came out of her hiding only to be met by the leader of the Jahanshahs. I don't know what else happened to her but her body still remains here, right there in the corner." He said, his old fingers pointing to a skeleton laying uncomfortably by the wall, piece of its cloth and hair still stuck to it.


	8. A History Worth Returning To

The train was beginning to depart, the wheels slowly beginning their motion. Hana sat by her window staring blankly at the fields before her. It felt as if she were returning home after a long journey, a very long journey that seemed to expend time and change the meaning of life and nature on its own. She smiled when she saw the landscape slowly move by as the train began to accelerate.

Khadija opened the compartment door carrying a tray of tea and pastries, setting them down neatly on the table by the window.

"I really think that this century is not so bad Hana" Khadija began as she poured tea for each of them. "I would not want to recall the primitive ways that we used to travel which was mostly on foot or by horse or boat but this train contraption is a lot more fun."

"It is much more efficient but don't forget dear, there is a cost to everything." Hana said sadly fiddling with the sweet pastry.

"What do you mean Hana?"

"I remember walking these streets and jungles before I met you. There is so much to learn and see walking and taking the time to explore but with this transportation, we are speeding by them with out a second glance or even a fleeting thought. We only care about going where we need to be so where is the adventure now."

"I suppose it is true but this way we get to see more of the world in less time" Khadija smiled a piece of pastry stuck to her check making Hana laugh.

"You have a little sweet icing stuck to your check" Hana laughed harder.

"Oh you think that is funny do you?" Khadija smirked taking a pastry with cherry filling and putting the cherry on Hana's nose making them both fall back onto their seats in laughter.

"Now we both look hilarious….and you seemed to have gotten your strength back, fragile warrior"

"I don't know how it happened. Being back in that temple just brought everything back including my strength."

The temple so many centuries ago was a sight to behold. Khadija regularly went there and spent hours with the scholars that kept their precious scrolls of knowledge and with the guards that taught her how to defend herself when her father and brother refused saying that a girl's job was to worry about the home and children. It was on such a day that when Khadija was training and actually successfully beating the guard with her swift footwork and reaction speed that she noticed the old priest taking a goat to be sacrificed, its little baby trailing after it.

"What is going on?" Khadija asked dropping her weapon on the ground and running to the priest who stopped hearing the little mistress's progress.

"I am sacrificing the goat under your father's command." He responded ignoring the cry's of the baby goat behind him and the squealing goat in his hands.

"Can you not pick another goat? The baby looks too young to live without its mother."

"This is the fattest goat and the fate of the baby is unfortunate but they will both enter the cycle of reincarnation and find better lives."

Khadija frowned realizing that she could not go against her father's orders or make the priest change his mind but she could at least do something about the baby goat that would not leave the priest in peace.

"Could I have the baby goat then? I wanted a pet" Khadija smiled thinking of how she could fill her time up with caring for the little creature.

"Please do! I can't seem to separate them and it will die without food so go on."

"Thank you" Khadija said and picked up the fragile creature in her arms. "I will call you Pan and I will take care of you." And she did as she had promised, turning her little Pan into a chubby goat that loved to nimble food from her hand and run around the walled garden.

"Baaa" The goat called and Khadija was immediately at her side with food, stopping when she noticed her book open in front of the creature and it appeared to be reading.

"Are you reading my book Pan? You must be one smart goat or…I am loosing my mind and I need another person around."

No sooner had those words escaped Khadija's' lips had someone knocked on the gates of her home. She smiled at the goat.

"Do you grant wishes in addition to reading books?"

"Have you a place I could stay?" A girl asked wearing a scarf on her head and a shawl over her shoulders that was tattered but no matter how exhausted she appeared, her blazing sea green eyes were sharp as a hawk's.

"Who are you?" Khadija asked smiling at the stranger somehow feeling that she could trust her, as if they had been friends at some other time, in another life.

"I am Hana. I have traveled a very long way. All I ask for is some shelter and food and I will be gone tomorrow."

"Don't be silly Hana. I am Khadija and you will be guest here."

"But you don't even know me." Hana whispered wondering why someone was so generous and kind when she had suffered through so much ill treatment on her way here.

"I don't really know who you are but the pendent you hide beneath your clothes seems to be a royal seal of some sort. Besides you don't stand like a beggar who has been humbled to the dirt. You are still proud to be you and that is a sign of royal education."

"Very clever of you to notice that Khadija, I see that we will be very good friends." Hana smiled

"Oh the best I am sure." She laughed "Let's go to Ashanti, she will give you fresh clothes so that I could present you to my father and you can be an honored guest here."

Being a guest at this household was an honour and pleasure indeed. Hana was received as the royal princess of Ur and given luxurious rooms but most importantly she felt peaceful and at home following the many months that she had spent traveling here. Ever since she had heard of her parents fading memories of her existence, a deep void had erupted within her that made her feel hollow and incomplete. Since that day, she had not felt the warmth of the sun that was caressing her exposed legs or the pouring rain that washed her hair in the jungle day, but now with Khadija by her and the little goat Pan that seemed to grow fatter and fatter every day, she found reason to laugh and smile and train the ancient arts of combat that Khadija was very eager to know.

"So what will be the fate of little Pan…or should I say big Pan" Hana asked sprawled lazily on the grass in the shade of a tree.

"I was promised by my papa that he would not sacrifice it, so Pan will grow fat but live long."

"Not if we keep feeding it the way we do…Khadija?"

"Yes?" she said dreamily picking the petals of a yellow flower.

"I think I will leave soon for more adventure, I can't stay here all my life."

"No! You can't you're my best friend and what about Pan?"

"I wish you could come with me but your father does not seem the type of man who would let his daughter roam the land without at least a husband by her side."

"Oh but I wish I could come. I long to see the world but it would take a catastrophe to set me free and I could never wish for that"

Khadija's second wish to keep her family safe fell on deaf ears as the sworn enemy of her family, the Jahanshas had descended on their home brining with them the catastrophe that would set her free. Khadija and Hana fought till the last possible minute on the roof, Pan a their feet, until Ashanti grabbed them by the wrists and dragged them to the temple, hiding them behind on of the draped screens and herself in another.

Ashanti had seen the two girls manage to run away from this hell but her feet felt rooted to the stones beneath and she could not make herself move until it was too late. The last image she saw was of Jahanshah laughing at her broken form tucked in a corner as a scared priest sacrificed the beloved Pan for the new master's fortune.


	9. Panic, My Enemy

_Thanks to all those who have read, read and reviewed or just glanced...XD_

_Sorry for the long wait...So without further ado the next chapter._

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Hana shifted uncomfortably, her forehead pressed to the glass, fogging it up. Her eyes slowly opened and she had to blink several times before she realized that she was back at the crossroads that led her to her present life. Here she heard the news that pierced her very soul that still had not fully healed. Here she chose to go on her adventure where she met her dearest friend Khadija. Hana looked around for a moment, Khadija was not there and the train had stopped. A brief moment of panic washed over her but was forgotten when she saw her friend walking on the platform looking at the multitude of trinkets sold for gifts to clueless tourists. Time it seems had not changed the need for people to survive. Hana smiles and then closed her heavy lidded eyes, falling back into a dreamless sleep.

"Hana guess what!!! I got something amazing you are going to love me for it!" Khadija squealed waking Hana up who seemed very confused by the sudden burst of energy thrown at her.

"What? What are you taking about?"

"OK…well I was looking at all the things that they were selling and there was nothing in particular until I walked to the worst stall ever. An old woman sat there and I asked her why she did not advertise what she held. She smiled to me and then pulled out a set of ancient scrolls. They are a copy of the history of Ur, your home Hana and in our old time. Here" Khadija said thrusting several dusty scrolls into Hana's hands that trembled with the though of hearing those painful words again.

"Thank you Khadija" she whispered caressing the ancient papyrus.

"I know that it has been hard for you to think about your family but at least this way you can be sure of something."

Hana nodded and began to read the first scroll. She gulped wondering if she really wanted how they had lived their lives, their lives that had ended so long ago and were spent without her which felt like the old scars opening again.

The first scroll began with the same old official words that were there to fill the space on parchment but as the words began to regain meaning, Hana noticed that the tone of this scroll was not what she had expected. It felt somewhat caring but perhaps she was just imagining that.

"The silent tears of Ur…"Hana said out loud, shocked by the words. She had not heard that phrase in years, a phrase her mother used to tell her when she felt bad but needed to be strong.

Khadija crooked her neck "Hana? Are you alright?"

"Yes even better than that." She whispered feeling her tears break the silence they lived by and spill onto her cheeks in dual streams.

"Oh don't cry little one" Khadija said rushing over to hug her friend, but Hana shook her had and laughed.

"These are more tears of joy than sadness"

"What does that phrase mean Hanasan?

"It means that they really did care. They did miss me."

"So what happened to them?"

Hana cleared her throat and began to read the ancient scriptures.

"It says that the king and queen silently wept for the possible death of their favourite daughter, the middle child. The party of the older children went to search beyond the kingdom for their lost sister while the younger ones kept the spirits up of the nation. Yet this was not the time for the royal family of Ur to weep for they had other problems. The next door kingdom headed by a rival family sought to take their prosperity. They tried to keep up a brave face in order to give them no reason to attack them. Their mourning was proclaimed the Silent Tears of Ur. Unfortunately only three generations could keep their kingdom, the descendents of the oldest son. The older daughter was married to a very powerful noble of the land and named her first daughter after her lost sister as did all the other siblings. Nothing is certain of what happened the day of the disappearance of Princess Hana. It would seem that this knowledge was lost, once all its witnesses met heaven"

"Not all witnesses."

"No, not all"

"You never did tell me about it. What happened to you? How did the Greeks capture you?"

Panic was Hana's enemy when it caught her off guard like her mother and the council of elders she faced wishing she could faint at the spot but worse when she managed to convince her parents to let her go away to her uncle's mansion in Egypt and found trouble on the road. Ali had always protected her and it was natural for him to come along but what she was most happy about the fact that her friend Ishkandra was coming with her. They had been friends and inseparable for years, ever since they began their lessons together.

Ishkandra was just a bit taller but she had a similar hair colour and eye colour as her friend and companion in mischief. They had spent their time drawing on scrolls while their professor would drone over some history they would prefer to forget anyways. Yet in the end Ishkandra would make sure that Hana would finish her scrolls and do her readings before they would begin any new adventure. There was something interesting about their relationship. They seemed to always manage to cheer each other up and even many wondered how they could always be so merry, smiling, and giggling while rushing through the palace hallways. Unfortunately Ishkandra's smile was now gone, lost in time and alive in a memory of a friend who was likewise lost but in a different time.

The journey began normally. They waved to their families as their caravan proceeded down an ancient path, never thinking that this would be the last time that they would see these familiar walls and people. Instead they reveled in their newfound freedom and the sheer thrill of the unknown.

The unknown and a more specifically a dangerous unknown reached them by surprise in the shape of an ambush. The dirty Greek soldiers jumped from their hiding places in the sands and descended on the caravan screaming to leave only the women alive. Ali who was at the head of the caravan rushed with his sword to protect the two girls who were themselves battle ready. They had pulled out their swords and were chopping down the men but Ali had pushed Hana and Ishkandra onto the sand and motioned for them to run away.

The girls were not ready to just run away but the pleading look in his eyes told them that it would be best to leave before they would see what they wish they would never have to. It was panic at this indecisiveness that carried them far but not far enough.

They ran until they collapsed on the hot sand, breathless, thirsty but still able to hear the clamour of metal and men. It was no use running any further. Their bodies could not handle any more running and definitely not fighting, they were stuck on the crossroads of trying to survive the danger that was close by and the heat that was slowly draining any of the energy that was left.

They could have cried in their helplessness but it would do them no good and their tears were dry. So in a last effort not to give up they held onto their hands, shutting their eyes and hoping for the raiders to disappear, yet as before, not all wishes come true.

Two Greek soldiers soaked in blood and sweat had come upon them, following their trail in the sand and laughed when they saw two girls, that fought so valiantly, lying in the sand near death.

Hana's breath stilled as she squeezed Ishkandra's hand to hold on but Ishkandra did not listen. With the strength that she had left, she took her sword and ran it through one of the Greeks. From then, everything was blank until Hana found herself in a cage on a rocky boat but it was clear as the night sky above her that she was the only one that survived. The emptiness that seemed to fill her soul was proof enough.


	10. The Oracle of Delphi and My goat Pan

_Thanks again to all those who have read the story. :P Sorry for not updating earlier. Enjoy._

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"You have come to see the Oracle?" The man wearing a priestly toga asked unsure why tourists would come to such a sacred place again.

"Yes" Hana replied and he showed them into the dim main chamber parting the curtains that separated it from the main hall and disappeared quickly. Their train had arrived at its final stop by the sea from where they took a boat, one that took them through the Aegean Sea, past Euboea onto the mainland. It was surprising to see how the Greeks survived all this time. The land was rather hilly and it would have definitely been trouble planting in the rocky soil. Yet it could be understood how they survived. To survive the desert or this rocky terrain, all you need is enough strength, persistence and ingenuity.

The chamber seemed to be filled with a thin smell of flowers and dried leaves but Hana and Khadija, immediately turned their attention to the caped oracle that still had her back to them, arranging some herbs into pots.

"You know Hana it really took you long enough to get here. I was really getting bored." The caped oracle said with her back to her visitors, the priest leaving them alone with a nod.

"How is it that you know my name?" Hana asked cautiously as Khadija began to slowly back away, but Hana frowned when she felt a hint of similarity wash over her.

"You know it took me a century to figure out the right reincarnation. Yeah, it definitely made me feel stupid. I got turned into a goat once…bleh…grass is not that delicious perhaps if it had sweeter taste… and getting sacrificed is not fun but at least I got to start over in a hurry." The Oracle said turning around with a beaming smile.

Hana gasped "You can't be her! How?"

"Got killed, which was not that great but I got started on the cycle early and after the very many reincarnations, I reincarnated as my actual self, body and mind."

"But how could you remember your past?"

"I never forgot. My dying wish was to see you again and well here I am."

Khadija tugged on the hand of her stunned friend. "Who is that?"

"Ishkandra"

"Ishkandra?" Khadija reverberated confused, feeling something similar about this person.

"Yes, but you probably remember me as your goat Pan. No hard feelings there. It's not like you knew that I was going to be sacrificed and then eaten but it was fun being your pet. You always fed me well…that would probably explain why I was so eagerly eaten. Anyway, how has life been for the both of you?"

Khadija giggled "You were a very funny goat. I thought that you were trying to read that book."

"I was and it was an interesting book indeed but now I do prefer to read them instead."

"This can't be…" Hana muttered wondering if this was some cruel dream she was having.

"I know that this is not a great way of coming back into someone's life" Ishkandra whispered feeling her friend withdraw.

"I saw you die. You killed that Greek and he killed you in return. Why did you do that? We could have survived together. I wouldn't have been so hurt and lonely for so long." Hana began to weep, her pent up emotions getting the better of her.

Ishkandra sighed and came to her friends' side cradling her in her arms, humming an old song, Khadija joining them.

"You know why…" Ishkandra whispered as Hana stopped crying and wiped her tears. "The chances of both of us living through everything were miniscule. Those soldiers could have speared us when we were lying in the sand. By making us too dangerous, through my stupid act, I could at least be assured that they would take you away and perhaps try to sell you. I know you well enough Hana, to know that you would be able to run away as soon as you passed hands."

"But what about you? How did you know about all of this? How did you know you would come back?"

"I took a gamble but I didn't study for so long with the high priest that I should know nothing. Right now though, we have bigger problems. You came to find out what to do next and you should know that it is a lot."

"What is happening?" Khadija asked, glad of the change in topic.

"Hana, your uncles' kingdom is gone. You probably realized this but it changed hands through his children. Now death is going to rise from Egypt through Imhotep, the high priest who suffered the Homdai. We have to find the Medjai who will lead us so that we can recover your uncles' treasure, the one he left for you, the one that can bring us back to our time. First we need to find the Jahanshah who should be coming right about now…."

The curtains were opened by the priest and a handsome young man with black hair and chocolate brown eyes walked in. He wore a casual suit, the jacket hanging off his arm in the midday heat, his white shirt unbuttoned slightly to reveal his well muscled chest, his smile brilliant even in the dim area.

"I am so sorry. Am I interrupting?" He asked politely turning back to see if the man was still there, he wasn't. "Um...the priest let me in. Should I just come back another time?"

Ishkandra shook her head. "You are just in time. We were waiting for you."

"You were? Really?" he asked skeptically, his gentle smile becoming a frown as he looked at the occupants of the room cautiously. "And why were you waiting for me?"

"We need your help Jahanshah." Ishkandra answered and briefly glanced at Khadija who was beaming at the thought of having him accompany them on their journey.

"Calm down Khadija" Hana whispered. "We don't need him running away besides with a few more words he might do just that."

"What kind of help? And what are you two whispering about?"

"We are just admiring your…eloquence" Hana blurted out sending Khadija into a fit of giggles.

"Are you making fun of me?" He asked rather playfully surprising everyone.

Khadija shook her head. "She might have been admiring your eloquence. I was admiring something else."

"Oh really? And that would be?"

"Your smile but I should technically hate you."

"What have I done to offend you then?

"It's a very long history…"

"Is that so? Good thing then that I wasn't planning on leaving here anytime soon, besides I don't have anything better to do."


	11. The Gathering of Men

_**Sorry for the long wait. Thank you to all who have read my stories. Here is the next chapter. Enjoy. (I promise there will be more action soon. )MRG**_

* * *

The Gathering of Men

The Medjai had handed over the pitiful American who had just unfortunately met Imhotep. He was whimpering and his hands shook violently as his body tried to register the pain that overwhelmed him to unconsciousness twice already. His friends crowded around him, disbelieving of the barbarity of the creature but still willing to fight if need be.

Ardeth Bay shook his head, sitting down on a rock in one of the many tunnel passages that led from the surface to what seemed no where. His forehead was covered in a thin sheath of sweat but it didn't matter at the moment, time felt still. The creature escaped after killing some of his men, men he had sworn to protect after being appointed leader of this expedition by the Gathering of Men, an ancient practice that no one would dare to defy, even if it meant their life.

Ardeth looked up at the dusty hieroglyphs, the sky and stars painted above in the inner chamber of the tomb, it has been 15 years to this day that his father stood before the Gathering of Men, a gathering of all the leaders, where they had decided that the Chief Bay should gather his men and protect the land of blood and sand, protect the ancient resting place in order to protect man kind but it cost him his life. He took his last breath fighting men that knew nothing and cared little of ancient curses, who invaded these cursed sands in search of gold and glory, a fool's errand, a fool's hope. Though these fools had not released the creature, they managed to bring the responsibilities onto Ardeth's shoulders and it is such a heavy burden to carry. He could almost scream at the top his lungs from this sudden burst of old memories that seemed to give him razor sharp pain. He had not thought of his father for so long, he refused to do so, he needed to keep his head clear but apparently you can't run away from pain or the past, you have to face it.

A medjai came up to Ardeth breathing heavily, his black turban askew from running, his hand still clutching the curved sword that saved his life so many times.

"We found his tomb…" the man breathed pausing when Ardeth raised his hand and got up handing him a leather sack of water which he drank greedily in dire thirst.

"We found it…he left a message…" the man finished and turned around leading his leader to the tomb.

Ardeth took a deep breath before walking into the putrid smelling chamber, the first sign that something was deadly wrong. The sarcophagus stood tilted against the stone wall, its inside lined with a coating of slime, the bottom littered with bug exoskeletons. The cover lay right beside it. The inside was scratched up by hands, a message left in the midst, by a man who, in his love and devotion, was thrown into this dark hell to be eaten alive.

"_DEATH IS ONLY THE BEGINING"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In Cairo a crowd of people parted from a strange hooded figure that turned around from a man who looked like a mummy, a man who was breathing just seconds ago. The hooded figure clasped a canopic jar into his half decapitated hands and turned his still unregenerated head toward the scared people, whose fear he could smell, releasing bugs at the crowd. There was little time left for anyone to try and stop them. The creature was getting stronger every day with the killing of every man that had opened the box in which the book of the dead was kept. His will and determination had not lessened with the sands of time that swept over his cursed body at Hamunaptra but only grew stronger. The will of this man to live even past death for love held no earthly bounds but the will and resolve of this man to get what was denied him could end the world.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Khadija giggled in delight as the young Sanjay Jahanshah, nicknamed little ruler or Raj, showed her a trick of a disappearing coin; they were lost in their own world. Ishkandra sat right across from Hana who grimly stared out of the window of the train, a train that would lead them to the ship that would bring them to Crete, the home of the slayed minotaur, son of Poseidon's white bull and Pasiphaë. Yet it was not the ancient home, the now ruined palace they sought, but the still intact labyrinth built by the very clever Daedalus.

Hana sighed, her finger absently trailing on the glass of the window leaving behind a disappearing trail of heat.

"What are you thinking of?" Ishkandra asked smiling knowing exactly when her friend was sad and needed to talk.

"What? Oh…I do not like the idea of finding medjai's and such who would supposedly lead us. I would rather rely on myself." She grumbled still in a bad mood.

"Take a walk with me Hana and I will reveal to you the future. Something I shouldn't do but you need to know this little detail."

Ishkandra took Hanasan's arm and they slowly made their way to the hallway which was thankfully empty, only the distant scenery of blooming olive trees and tall hills with goats grazing was changing.

"You have to meet him. That medjai must be in your life."

"I don't want any men in my life." She replied stubbornly looking into the window hoping that the rushing of the train would somehow take away her foul mood.

Ishkandra laughed. "Ha ha….Oh you haven't changed a bit. This is not a suggestion, this is what is meant to be and you have to come to terms with it. Khadija is meant to be with the out little Sanjay Jahanshah, you are meant to be with the medjai that I will not name …"

"And you?" Hana interrupted wondering if nothing could really be changed.

"I am to be a sworn virgin all thanks to my reincarnation in Albania." Ishkandra replied laughing but seeing her friend's confused face decided to elaborate. "It is a tradition in Albania or rather a choice for women. Since there may not be enough men, some women and girls choose to be sworn virgins, meaning we take the responsibilities of men and are treated as such but not allowed to get married or have any relationships. It is a hard burden to carry but the family into which I was reincarnated would suffer from my marriage and besides my goal was to find you and not get stuck somewhere else."

"But what will happen to you afterwards? I mean after we return to our time. Will you still be prohibited from having a family?" Hana asked concerned no longer thinking of herself.

"No and I can technically stop right now but someone has to watch over the two of you and you know very well that boys are sometimes too big of a distraction" Ishkandra replied glancing back at the cabin "but you don't have to worry about that. Your medjai will never be a distraction, at least not one that you can't handle."


	12. A Pomegranate and the Grip of Hades

_Another thanks to all who have read my stories. Thanks :) Reviews are nice but not necessary. Without further interruption, I present Chapter 12.-MRG_

* * *

A Pomegranate and the Grip of Hades

Everyone coughed as the horse and cart sped off in the opposite direction leaving them in a cloud of dust. They were in the Peloponnesus, just past Sparta, where the ancient kings taught boys to be men and fight like the gods to the end, in a wheat field where scattered about were fruiting trees. They moved off the road and began walking through the field, finally resting in the shade of a pomegranate tree.

"So…"Sanjay started looking up at Ishkandra who seemed thrilled to be basking in the hot sun, a sun that was exhausting everyone else.

"Isn't this just wonderful?" Ishkandra called taking a wheat stock and examining the seeds briefly before coming to stand near an exhausted Khadija who looked gloomily at the cloudless sky "They'll have a good harvest this year, although a bit hot today, I can see you're parched Khadija"

Sanjay immediately pulled out the leather flask they had purchased as soon as they had left the train station and handed the cool water to Khadija who smiled sweetly.

"So why are we here and how far away are we from our destination?" Sanjay asked calmly as if not to frighten Khadija in his own uneasiness.

"Not too far…well actually far enough but don't worry about it. We're doing the right thing."

"Not understanding you at the moment."

"The vision said to ride in cart of a man with a goat beard to the wheat fields of Demeter where the fruits grow…"

"And then?"

"And now we wait…I can't say anymore, that is as much as Apollo would show me."

Sanjay nodded and looked up to see the branches of the tree ripe with fruit.

"Can we eat this?" He asked plucking the ripe fruit with the rough blood red skin.

"A pomegranate? Of course you can. Help yourselves while I see what Hanasan is doing."

Khadija got up and took her friend's hand stopping her for a moment.

"Do you know what bothers her?"

"I will find out. You should eat and then rest; I have a feeling that we have a long journey ahead of us."

* * *

As soon as the cart had sped away, Hanasan found herself wondering in the wheat fields, entranced by the glow and the peaceful movement of the stalks, as if they danced to the music of the wind. Her mind was full of thoughts that seemed to trouble her and send her into a foul mood once more. The thoughts of the medjai, of her future, and past all seemed to swirl until she found herself weakening, her feet calling for rest beneath the shade of the pomegranate tree whose limbs shone with fruit and dark green leaves. No matter how hard she tried, she could not and would not allow herself to sink into the prophecy Ishkandra had told her; that she was meant to meet a man who was to claim her. She frowned and turned her head away at the thought. The warrior within her did not want to be dominated no matter fate or destiny.

"Pomegranate?" A smooth voice echoed into her ear sending a chill down her spine.

Hanasan turned her head around, her eye widening in surprise and fear. Before her sat a man; he had shoulder length black hair, dark as the night, a neatly trimmed goatee, tanned skin that seemed to have an unearthly glow to it, dark brown eyes, and the most brilliant smile she had ever seen.

He moved closer, his black outfit, like shade, moving but at the same time concealing his true movements.

"Who-who are you?" Hanasan stuttered suddenly feeling a bit dizzy and disoriented as if a spell was being cast upon her.

"I think you know who I am" He whispered slowly watching as her eyes roamed over his lips.

"You are the medjai?"

"Do I not look like a medjai?"

"I suppose so…"

"I know what you want Hanasan," he continued coming to sit behind her, placing his strong hands on her shoulders making her shiver at the touch in what she was surprised was unexpected jolt of pleasure. "You may be brave and strong and oh so beautiful but what you crave is a touch"

Hana started looking ahead, a part of her wishing that someone would stop this man's words from spilling out, and a part of her yearned to know what would happen if he continued. All she could see was nothing but wheat ahead of her, her vision becoming more hazy, her breath shallower, as she felt the rhythmic breathing of her seducer on the column of her neck.

"I can give you what you want…just give in to me my dear Hana"

* * *

Ishkandra sighed, feeling a warning sign in the wind. Hana was no where to be found, she seemed to have disappeared and after Sanjay and Khadija picked enough pomegranates, they all started searching for her, calling out her name but hearing no response back.

Just as Khadija was starting to panic and Sanjay could no longer convincingly suggest that Hana might have fallen asleep beneath a tree somewhere, Ishkandra motioned for them to silently follow her to the largest of the trees. Khadija gasped and clung onto Sanjay when she saw Hana looking at her but not seeing, with a strange man embracing her from behind while tenderly kissing her neck.

"Hana!?" Khadija gasped unsure of whether they were interrupting something Hana wanted to happen or whether they came in time to stop something awful from happening.

Hana gave no response and did not even acknowledge anyone's presence but continued to sit as she had sat before with her eyes half lidded, her senses numb to all around her but the lips on her neck.

Ishkandra swore under her breath and ran over to Hana, grabbing her hand and trying to pull her away from the man's embrace but Hana merely got up without moving any further.

"Let her go!" Ishkandra yelled at the man.

"No" Hana whispered unemotionally, her voice fluid, her mind in a trance.

"Tell her, tell her that you want none of that meddling, you want to be with me and only me; you want what I can give you" the man whispered pulling away from the embrace and holding her left wrist instead. "Here eat some pomegranate my sweet you look hungry…" he said, a cold and triumphant smile on his face.

"Go all of you" Hana said repeating the words of her mysterious captor, getting ready to bite into the fruit when Ishkandra hit her hand, to which Hana gave no response.

"Hades!!" Ishkandra yelled, finally realizing the identity of the man who almost fully mirrored the medjai of Hana's destiny, to which the man gave an earth shattering laugh and changed into his true form, dark blue skin and black toga hanging off his well muscled and immortal body. "Hades set her free you have Persephone already."

"Such powerful words from an Oracle but you forget that you are speaking to a god, you foolish thing."

"Not foolish enough" Ishkandra said ripping off a pomegranate from the branch that hung over her head. "You can only take her with you if she had eaten your fruit." She said and bit into the red fruit herself, the juices running down to her chin, Hades' face becoming redder in his anger.

"Fine!" He yelled grabbing Ishkandra's wrist instead, pulling her slowly into the ground.

Sanjay immediately rushed over to catch Hana who feinted once the god's spell lifted, while Khadija ran to Ishkandra.

"What should I do?" She cried.

"Go to the cave in the north, it is where a hill stands among the wheat. Go through, it will bring you down to Hades' layer but watch out for the dog."

"A dog?" Khadija asked with a shudder, she had always feared dogs.

"A three headed dog named Cerberus, he will…" Ishkandra tried to finish but she was already beneath the ground where the sun barely ever shined.


	13. Silent Whispers

_Now I am proud to introduce the newest chapter of Spell it Correctly...Hope you enjoy. MRG_

_A little info before the story:_

_Sisyphus-tried to cheat death, managed to do it several times but ultimately ended up in Tartarus, a lower Hell, a place of eternal torture._

_Tantalus-helped the humans with Prometheus by stealing fire and was punished in Tartarus by being tied up to a tree with fruits and submerged upto his chin in water but is denied food and drink-hence our word "tantalize"_

_Ixion-runs on a wheel of fire because he tried to sleep with Hera, wife of Zeus._

_Charon- old man that guides souls to the other side of the river, the payment is two coins but if a soul doesn't have them, he/she must wander the other side for a hundred years before they can cross._

_Enjoy._

* * *

Ishkandra inhaled violently as she felt the damp ground of the land of Hades touch her feet. Around her was nothing but damp earth and black rocks forged eons ago from Chaos, to her right flowed the river Acheron, sorrowful, where Charon, the ferry man, stood hunched by his bobbing boat, sighing lightly. 

Hades spun around silently scowling at the girl next to him.

"You know I never did like traveling through the ground with you but it never ceases to take my breath away," she said sarcastically watching him try to control his temper.

"You weren't invited so consider yourself lucky that I have not locked you up in Tartarus yet."

"Speaking of Tartarus, how is Sisyphus?"

"Still clever but not clever enough to escape his punishment and neither are you!"

"I wasn't looking for my punishment and…" Ishkandra walked passed him seeing Charon "I am just looking forward to seeing some old friends. Charon! How are you?"

The old man stirred as if awakened from an old sleep, brushing his shaggy beard with a bony arm while resting on his staff.

"Two coins for passage, soul." He called back automatically, his eyes slowly focusing on the person before him. "Could this be Ishkandra? Oh child, what are you doing back in this dismal place?"

"I couldn't stay away," she said embracing him, "or rather Hades couldn't keep his hands off of my charge so I had to do something. So what has happened to you as of late?"

"Not much. There has never been so many souls traveling as during the 10 years of the Trojan War, but now we get many from Egypt."

"Egypt?" Ishkandra asked somewhat worried but before Charon could answer her back, Hades stepped onto the boat glaring at her, pointing his finger to the place in the boat next to him.

"Get in or wander for a hundred years."

Ishkandra stepped toward the boat but with each step it pulled further way.

"Have you forgotten about your payment?" Hades grinned knowing that his power has not diminished even as she struggled to defy him.

Ishkandra growled and pulled her sleeve up to the shoulder showing a scar in the shape of hand, his hand, the mark of Hades.

"Now get in before I chain you up with Tantalus."

* * *

"Do it!!" Ardeth yelled struggling against the priest mummy that grabbed his gun fighting him with strength no human knew. "Just do it O'Connel!!" 

Rick O'Connel hesitated for a moment and finally threw the stick of dynamite into the battle where Ardeth held the priest mummies at bay. A loud explosion erupted from the blast, throwing dust everywhere, the tunnel collapsing behind them, Ardeth disappearing in the midst of the dust and undead corpses that finally stopped moving.

* * *

Hades paced in his grand chamber two stories above the level of the river, his blue knuckles turning white as he tried not to destroy the girl before him. No matter what he did she still dared to defy him and he was beginning to wonder why he would even let her be the cause of a sore let alone a headache he was now experiencing. 

The chamber was black, its walls covered by numerous weapons of every age, spears prominently sticking out of the wall facing the heavy black doors, where two corpse like guards stood rooted to the black floor.

"To what do I owe the displeasure of your visit Ishkandra?" he growled glancing at her slightly amused smile and defiant stance in his presence, arms crossed over her chest.

"It is not my fault that you would not let me pet Cerberus. I haven't seen him in ages, several ages actually. I've even lost track."

"This is my domain!" he yelled, the room immediately becoming 10 degrees hotter, the mark on Ishkandras shoulder burning. "You are here by my grace. Do not tempt me or I will throw you down to the pits of this hell where you will burn and even Ixion will have a better fortune than you."

"I am doing nothing Hades, nothing but following my orders, given to me by Zeus."

"Hah! And who helped you get an audience with my brother? Hmm? You silly girl." He whispered drawing her to him with his arm and invisible strings against her will, stroking her shoulder with her the mark. "You belong to me, no matter how much you fight it, you're mine. So do you know what is larger than Mount Olympus?"

"Your head?" She retorted pulling away from him sharply, smiling sarcastically.

"That's it!" He yelled and pushed her with godly strength against the wall until the sharp spear, sticking out at the height just above her navel, pierced through her. Ishkandra gasped at the sharp pain, the feeling of cold steel running through her while her hot blood poured slowly out of her wound. She groaned and began breathing heavily; trying to stay awake despite the alarm of her body, despite the taste of blood in her mouth.

* * *

Hana woke up sharply at the memory of her and Ishkandra running away from the Greeks startling Khadija. They were situated beneath a pomegranate tree, Hana's head resting in Khadija's lap as the stars shone brightly above them. 

"Where is she? What happened?" Hana trembled looking at Sanjay's melancholy face and Khadija's tears.

"She took your place. She sacrificed herself for you." Sanjay replied unemotionally turning away as if he wanted nothing more to do with anything.

"Khadija…tell me…what happened? What did…I do?"

"You didn't seen yourself," she sobbed, "Your eyes were open but you couldn't see, you heard only him, you even spoke his words."

"Him? Who is he?"

Sanjay embraced Khadija form the back and cradled her, answering in her stead. "Ishkandra called him Hades and from what I recall, he is god of the underworld and the dead."

"Can we get her back?"

"She said to go to the hill in the north in a wheat field. She also mentioned a dog but disappeared into the earth before she could say anything else."

"Then we have to get her back!" She yelled, determined to fix the mistakes she had made.

Sanjay nodded solemnly, carefully moving the stay hair from Khadija's face. "We will tomorrow morning but tonight we sleep unlike the gods, for we need our strength for what comes ahead."

* * *

Ishkandra gave a meek whimper, a tear rolling down her cheek while Hades laughed so hard at her pain that the walls shook. "You remember this pain now, the pain of your death?" He asked halting his cool pacing. "You can now feel the steel running through you, barely keeping you alive but not letting you fall completely to death like the day I found you laying those foreign hot sands, the sun burning your flesh. You made a deal with me that day and I gave you an almost immortal life until you succeed in your mission and such a benevolent mission it is. Love," he said spitting to his left, "had you not interfered last night she would have been reunited with her man tonight, both of them dead but together in my house but now she is alive, determined to save you, and he is dying in a tunnel filled with old corpses." 

"What…"she groaned trying not to move too much "what do you want me to do?"

"I am a god of my word, to the last letter. Go to him as a spirit that is why I need you half dead. Go to him and rouse him from his deadly slumber or I shall claim him and you will wonder with your friend for all eternity on this earth, never seeing your families again and always bringing the furies with your wherever you will go."

"Go!" He said lifting his hand up and with it her soul into the hot air.

* * *

Ardeth could smell the dust beneath him, he was half conscious and yet his body refused to respond to his mind. 

"Wake up Ardeth…" A now transparent Ishkandra called trying to be careful enough so that he did not see her. "Wake up, you must get up, your journey is not over, get up. You cannot give up, there is much at stake and much in your future." She said blowing ghostly air on a torch, lighting it, a power Hades had forgotten to mention and to relieve her of even in her life.

He began to stir at the words, his eyes slowly opening but all he saw was a little glimmer of white in the yellow glow of the torch. Ardeth slowly got up cradling his wounded arm, wrapping it with a piece of his shirt, looking around for the source of the voice, but there was nothing but silence and silent whispers of the fire.


	14. Beautiful Stranger

**_Greek Gods and Goddess to know before the story:_**

_Helios-sun god who rides the chariot across the sky pulling the sun behind him_

_Hades-god of the underworld_

_Eris-goddess of strife and chaos_

_Zeus-the greatest of gods, a thunder_ _god_

_Iris-messenger goddess, usually in the shape of a rainbow_

_Sirius-constellation of stars that appears in July, the hottest time of the year for Greeks_

_Athena or Pallas Athena- daughter of Zeus, virgin goddess of arts, crafts, and war, known for her wisdom and cleverness._

_Oath by the river Styx- the greatest oath anyone can make, an oath even the gods cannot break without very, very dire punishment_

**And now without further interruption, I present the new chapter. _MRG_**

* * *

The sun rose in the east with Helius' carriage pulling it along the sky half way between heaven and earth, the birds rising in response, chirping sweet songs as they bathed in little puddles on the dirt road. Sanjay turned, his hand subconsciously searching for Khadija, but finding only the cold ground beneath his fingertips, his ears slowly beginning to register the sound of low grunts in the air.

Hana and Khadija had been up for the last two hours, as soon as the rays of the sun touched the cool grass of the earth, practicing their ancient skills using thick sticks instead of swords for practice. They now stood at a stalemate, both of them trying to overpower the other with stealthy moves, quick reflexes, and surprise attacks. Sanjay slowly got up, wide-eyed never having believed that the girl that he had hoped to protect could wield more power that he dreamed was possible. He gulped nervously as Khadija got Hana on the defensive, causing her to back toward the tree where he stood.

* * *

Hana stopped looking up at the sky where a graceful, crying eagle circled above, a sign of favor from Zeus if he indeed watched them from above, and managed to duck away from Khadija's attack which struck the tree mere millimeters away from Sanjay's petrified face. 

"The eagle…" Hana said breathlessly dropping her staff to the ground, a sign of a pause in their battle at least.

"Sorry love," Khadija said lowering her staff as well, feeling somewhat uneasy about almost hitting him on the face were it not for the tree. "What about the eagle? Do you think it was a sign from Ishkandra?"

"It could be. The eagle is the sign of Zeus, the king of all the Greek gods and if I am not mistaken, the brother of Hades. This might be a sign that we should try to find that hill among the wheat where Hades had once stolen Persephone from her mother, Demeter, the goddess of the harvest."

"Any chance that this Demeter, as you say, this goddess of the harvest will help us?" Sanjay suggested picking up his clothes from the grass and folding it neatly over his arm as Khadija attentively removed a blade of grass from this shirt.

"Unlikely," Hana sighed, picking up her bag, "I would imagine that she would be glad if her daughter were free and another would take her place in that gloomy underworld and Ishkandra is half way there having eaten that bloody fruit. We need to travel north like Ishkandra said."

Without another word they collected the rest of their things and headed toward the dusty road in hopes of saving their friend.

* * *

Ishkandra disappeared from the tunnel where Ardeth Bay finally stirred. She was satisfied and glad that he was alive and had enough strength to return but now Hades called her back, forcing her to travel through the cold walls of the tomb beneath the hot sand of the valley of kings. 

Once her ghostly form reached the soft of the upper atmosphere, Ishkandra could not help but smile at the warmth of the sun as Helios passed her by but the warmth lasted only a little as the mark of Hades began to sting, mirroring its master's impatience.

The trip from Egypt to Greece was rather uneventful except for the small storm of arguments Eris could not help but provoke among some hungry sailors. This forced the mighty Zeus to send Iris, the rainbow, to pacify the goddess, unhappy that she was not given a proper sacrifice from those sailors after helping them profit by creating chaos in the market place. Their arguments faded in the distance and the memory of them faded as quickly as it appeared but at least it served the purpose of distracting Ishkandra from her worries, if just for a little while.

Two days had passed; Ishkandra was finally getting close to the house of Hades when she spotted her friends, her dear friends, dusty in the hot sun, making their way north just as she had instructed but didn't finish. If only she had…but now, no matter how much she wanted them to safely get to the underworld and rescue her, she was forbidden by Hades, sworn by the river Styx, not to show any other form to her companions but the human unless in peril.

The wind blew north, speeding her progress toward the loathsome, cold god, when she spotted a shepherd boy dreaming beneath a tree and a wolf watching him and his flock just a short walk away. Lowering herself down to the earth, Ishkandra touched the boys head and entered his dream dressed as Athena in hopes of both saving his life and that of her friends.

"Goddess" the boy called amidst the soft green grass and butterflies that surrounded them in this vision. "How may I serve you Pallas Athena?"

"If you promise to serve me faithfully and do what I ask of you, your life and flock wil be saved"

"I swear my lady" he said falling to his knees.

"There is no time for that. You will meet three travelers coming your way. Two young women and a man oddly dressed. One young woman will walk with the young man by her side. She will break your bones like sticks if you lie. The other young woman will cut you into pieces with magic swords if you betray them yourself or let someone betray them. The young man will hunt you down if you do not do as I ask. Take them to the mound that rest just beyond your village the mound all maidens avoid. This is what you must tell them and provide them with…"

The boy listened intently, his eyes never leaving the goddess envisioned before him.

"Now get up from underneath your tree and save yourself and your flock. There is a wolf just a short walk away stalking you."

* * *

"Do you suppose she will send us a sign?" Sanjay asked obviously tired and annoyed by the circumstances and the unbearable heat of midday in the season when Sirius is high in the evening sky. 

"Of course she will", Khadija eagerly responded hoping to liven up the dismal mood but looked to Hanasan for reassurance, finding only a shrug of uncertainty.

"The wind is flowing north, pushing us, that s at least a good sign" Khadija added but received silence from her companions.

"What is that?" Sanjay asked pointing to an object.

Hana saw a boy in the distance where Sanjay pointed, half smiling, almost a mirage and yet quite real. His gaze never wavered and yet there was something, a feeling she got from him and his solid posture. It was like the feeling a young boy would have when he would leave his father to tend the most dangerous of posts and though he knew his father would most likely return, like he did so many days before, there was a secret feeling, a foreboding that said otherwise. It would send the chill down his spine and breathe a cold whisper that death was coming and was coming soon and yet this feeling was repressed, forgotten, but death is exactly what they were searching for.

"It is a stranger," Hana whispered gazing at his dark black hair and brown eyes.

"A beautiful stranger," Khadija giggled.

* * *

**_Thanks for reading. Much more intense things will be happening in the next chapter with lots of surprises._ _MRG_**


	15. A Ladies' Whisper

**_A big thank you to all who read this fanfic. Sorry for taking so long to update but Ochem is the god of my life and he makes me do radical halogenations...lol. Anyways hope you enjoyMRG_**

* * *

Ishkandra closed her eyes as she began to descend through the layers of earth. She may have been in a ghostly state but she could still feel the cold clay surrounding her until she fell through the roof of Hades' hall and hovered right above her motionless body. Hades sat unbothered, drinking a cup of nectar.

"Welcome back" he said unemotionally.

"I did as you had asked Hades," Ishkandra sighed, guilt having to deal with this god, weighing heavy on her barely beating heart.

"Mmm, you see," he said taking another sip from a golden cup engraved with a battle scene. "I was going to put sleep over your eyes to ease the pain as I would rejoin your body and soul, but you couldn't help but dabble, could you? You had to send a message to your friends," he hissed motioning down with his right hand, causing Ishkandra's soul to slowly descend toward her body, still impaled by the spear.

"What are you…" she gasped suddenly, feeling a jolt of pain like no other as her soul and body began to merge.

"This will hurt Ishkandra and perhaps next time you'll know better than to disobey me and take my good grace for granted."

Hades' hand dropped and Ishkandra's body and soul reconnected with such pain that she couldn't scream, she only gasped for air and fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

As the three travelers got closer to the shepherd with his staff in hand, his flock peacefully grazing, they began to feel less at ease at the boy's wide smile and unyielding gaze. As a precaution, Hana slowed her pace, darting unseen into some bushes, leaving Sanjay and Khadija to walk ahead.

From the bushes, Hana was able to easily see the shepherds' smile vanish at the sudden disappearance of one of the members of the approaching party and she smiled to herself as she found a long fallen branch that could easily serve as an improvised staff. Little did she know that someone unearthly was watching her every move and that of her companions.

* * *

"Hello," Sanjay said by way of greeting but the boy merely nodded his head. "We need some help. Our friend is lost…"

"I cannot help you," the boy interrupted turning away.

Khadija pulled away from Sanjay and pursued the boy, "It seemed like you could, you seemed to know who we were before we approached."

"You are mistaken. There is village just 3 hours away if you follow this road; someone perhaps can help you there."

"You were waiting for us, why else would you smile as we approached unless you have gone mad," she maintained.

He turned around scowling at her. "There, you have said it, I am mad and you are wrong. I waited for no one."

"You're lying!" Khadija crossed her arms reminiscent of a mother scolding her child.

The boy looked guiltily at her.

"I-I-I told you, just leave please."

"Since persuasion through words doesn't work with you," she said pulling out her staff and pointing it in his direction, her muscles tense and yet relaxed in her defensive pose. "Persuasion through action might work better…"

"Please…I…My name…," he mumbled.

A slivery mist began to flow on the ground, slowly rising but no one seemed to notice its progress except for Sanjay, who shivered in fear. His breathing increased and he began to look around frantically trying to find an emergency escape if things escalated from strange to bad.

"Khadija, I think we should leave while we can," he whispered without glancing at her, knowing that she would be able to hear him even if she was threatening the boy. "Khadija…Khadija?!"

Sanjay turned around and jumped back in fear as he saw Khadija and the boy paralyzed, looking like live statues, unresponsive, and surrounded by the deafening fog that blocked out the sun and stopped the warm breeze that eased the summer heat.

A ladies' whispering laugh resonated and disappeared just ahead of him, then reappeared behind him, making turn sharply, and melted away.

"My name is Petros," a tantalizing woman's voice mocked near the tree where Khadija and the boy remained, "which by the way means Rock…so I am not too bright. Athena had sent me a vision and I have to help you reach the underworld but I am upset because I was told to wait for three people and there are now two of you before me. But lo and behold here is the third" She laughed, the fog parting. It encircled Hana's body and dripped off the edge of the staff she held, as she stood behind the tree, hidden, but poised to take action. "How quaint…"

"W-who's there? Is that you _my_ goddess" Sanjay whispered.

"What a wonderful guess" she replied sarcastically, materializing before his eyes in a crimson toga, her hair wild but alluring, decorated with many golden trinkets that shined despite the godly fog. "At least you remembered something Sanjay."

She was beautiful with red lips, a body shape that could set any man's heart on fire but eyes cold and hard as stone.

"You look very different goddess, I didn't recognize you" he finally uttered dropping to his knees and bowing, hoping the dissatisfaction on her face would disappear.

"Yes, well my form changes depending on the place of worship I pass. Get up! I hate to see you grovel, it doesn't suit you. In Greece I am Eris…"

"Iris?"

"No, you buffoon!" She yelled barely restraining her urge to smack him to the ground. "I am not a rainbow, a lowly goddess that brings messages and does the bidding of others. I am the goddess of discord, the goddess of chaos, and an unwelcome being in so many places but that is why YOU are still alive my little Sanjay. I at least have you doing my dirty work…but I have noticed that you haven't been doing much of that work lately…and I haven't received a message from you since you met _her_," she said wrapping her pale hand around Khadija's neck. "Are you distracted Sanjay?" she began tightening her grip but Khadija remained the same, immobile "it certainly is no trouble for me to end her life if she is keeping you from completing what you promised me."

"Stop it!! Don't hurt her."

"Oh so she is the reason for this disgusting change in you…very interesting…how much have you told her, my dear?" she laughed releasing Khadija and walking over to Sanjay to stroke his face affectionately with an icy hand, "have you told her about me? About us? No? Give me a reason then not to kill her or her sweet little friend…"

"We are trying to rescue Ishkandra from Hades."

"Ishkandra? She is here and in Hades hands?" She fumed, her icy beauty melting away to reveal an angry beast inside.

"Yes." He simply answered.

"I should destroy you for not informing me of this!" Her nails began to dig into his flesh and draw blood but Sanjay didn't flinch.

"And yet you won't because you need me to bring Ishkandra to you and what would you say about an added bonus of Hana, the royal princess of Ur."

The goddess' grip on his face slackened and she returned to her initial state.

"You deliver them both to me at Carthage, the home of Hera, and I will give you what I promised," she whispered brushing her lips against his cheek. "I'll be visiting you soon, my sweet beaux"

* * *

**_Sanjay, Sanjay, Sanjay, you naughty boy..._**

**_What deal did he make with the goddess of discord? and Why is she so interested in Hana of Ur and Ishkandra? Keep reading to find out more. Read and Review._**

**_Hope you enjoyed this chapter...a new one is coming up shortly MRG_**


	16. A Trace of Blood

**_A big thank you to all who continue to read this story. :)MRG_**

Sanjay looked down at Khadija who peacefully slept, a cold cloth resting on either side of her swollen neck. He had spent the whole night there, by her side, cooling the cloth to make her more comfortable as she tried to get some rest. The swelling she had after Eris had almost crushed her neck was slowly going down but it did little to ease his guilt at what happened. If he had only been strong enough and not shown his weakness to the goddess but would she have believed him? There was a high possibility that she would have killed Khadija in front of his eyes, another life meant nothing to this wrathful goddess, she only cared for her plans and goals.

He sighed, quietly getting up from the bed, pausing as Khadija moved, subconsciously seeking his presence. He looked down at her sleeping face, marveling at her sweet nose, the swell of her cheeks, the gentle but bruised column of her neck, the beautiful brown eyes that were, for now, hidden from him and a that moment he felt a pain deep within. It was because her comment tugged at his soul, a comment she uttered when he carried her over to the bed Petros made ready for his visitors just before she fell asleep.

"Why didn't you tell me before?" she whispered, her eyes full of understanding and compassion although she was the one who suffered the most.

"We will talk later" was all he could reply. Sanjay knew that she asked about his supposed new ability to foretell the future, an ability he never possessed but it was the only thing he could think of in order to hide the true source of his knowledge.

Sanjay walked out of the house, his hand tracing the wooden door before he walked over to an olive tree that stood to its left. Petros' house was very small and sat on top of a little hill overlooking the wheat fields and the village. Petros was an orphan or at least he had become one when his father did not return from a hunt two months back but the boy still held onto his hope that his father would return and kept up all his chores. The village, like a large family, would send someone once every two days to check on the boy if he had not gone down to the village and some of the women would bring him food but they didn't know what to do with him. Sanjay sat down onto the soft grass with more guilt in his heart, watching as Helios dragged his chariot with the sun across the sky bringing a new day. He worried about the boy, not because this child of just 13 was left alone in this world but because whatever the goddess of chaos touched, suffered greatly like Khadija and countless people before her, and he was the goddess' right hand.

Sanjay traced the blood on his cheek that continued to spill from the wound inflicted by Eris' cruel hand. He looked at his fingers briefly marveling at the bright crimson coating, wondering why this physical pain was so easily gone but his guild did not disappear even after years of serving such a cruel mistress, it only built.

"You are still bleeding," Hana said sitting next to him, resting her staff on her thigh.

"How is Khadija?" Sanjay asked, unemotionally trying to wipe the blood with the sleeve of his shirt when Hana stopped him.

"She is still asleep. Shouldn't you rest? You stayed up all night watching her," she said taking a clean cloth and wiping his cheek but frowned when she saw a strange object peaking beneath the cut. "Don't move"

"What is it?" Sanjay asked, worried as she retrieved a dagger from the folds of her shirt

"Just stay still, this will hurt a little"

The blade of the dagger bit into his skin and with some difficulty managed to free a crescent shaped object, after which the bleeding miraculously stopped becoming a dried crimson trail on his cheek. Hana held out her hand bearing the object which he took and tried to examine.

"It looks like a nail" Hana said in confusion.

* * *

Petros checked the pens where his flock still slept and covered himself in a shawl, quietly walking down the hill toward the mound Athena had told him to bring the travelers that now shared his home. He wanted to be sure he knew where it was exactly but he wasn't ready for what he saw next.

Two deer, animals unusual to their region hopped gracefully toward the mound, the gateway to the House of Hades. Petros hid behind a bush, watching their progress, wondering if they were sacred creatures or dinner he could capture later. As soon as the beautiful beasts stood just outside the entrance of the mound, they magically turned into two women fully dressed with garlands of flowers adorning their hair.

"Where is Apollo?" Leto, beloved by Zeus, mother of the twin gods Artemis and Apollo, asked smoothing her hair.

"He's always late mother, probably got distracted by a nymph or mortal girl somewhere," the virgin huntress Artemis replied readjusting her bow over her shoulder. "Shouldn't we get inside before some mortal sees us? I tire of turning them into animals that they really are."

"Don't be so harsh Artemis but I suppose we should, it would be rude to keep your uncle waiting."

The two goddesses silently walked up to the mound, briefly pausing to look around just in case anyone was there. When satisfied that they seemed alone, Leto traced her hand in the reverse pattern of Helios riding the carriage across the sky with the sun, from the west to the east, the key to the door of the underworld.

Petros trembled at what he saw and in fear shifted away from the sight before him, accidentally breaking a twig that lay beneath him

"Did you hear that?" Artemis asked immediately drawing her bow and arrow, pointing them in the direction of the boy who didn't know who to pray to.

"Put your weapons away and get inside. We don't want to attract attention or your brother Apollo will not be able to go through this gate."

Artemis reluctantly put her weapons away and followed her mother into the mound where their door magically disappeared as it had appeared moments ago.

Petros lay motionlessly on the earth for a few more minutes before he got up and ran toward his home to tell the travelers of his discovery.

* * *

Apollo moved slowly toward the portal of his uncle Hades' realm in his godly form, no longer wanting to keep up his disguise of a traveler, instead he soaked in the warm of the sun, his sculpted body shining like gold.

As he got closer to the mound though, he traced the faint smell of blood and raised his bow and arrow in the direction just above the mound but feeling a godly presence like himself near, he resisted the urge to shoot.

"Show yourself," he growled his muscles tensing.

A hot wind twirled where his arrow pointed and there appeared Eris, dressed in crimson, nursing her finger where a piece of her nail was missing.

"You could be a little kinder Apollo, I am older than you," she said annoyed, still avoiding his gaze.

"Eris. What trouble do you bring now?" He asked lowering his weapons, draping his bow over his shoulder in the same fashion his sister did. "I smell human blood on your hands"

"I only scraped him but he cost me a nail. Oh well I will fix that later. I have some news for you," she said seductively lowering herself to the ground which she unfortunately noted barely had any effect on the god before her.

"You should know better than to try and trick a god Eris," he warned walking around her and opening the portal to Hades.

"Ishkandra is with Hades right now. I thought that I should warn you."

"What?"

"I thought that would get capture your interest Apollo. Do me a favor and I will let you know how you can control her," she smiled to herself knowing that her plan was slowly falling into place.

"Tell me and I will briefly assist you," Apollo whispered in her ear.

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**_Hope you enjoyed this chapter._**

**_...Buahaha...and the plot thickens. What is it that Apollo wants? And what is Eris' plan?...Hmmm. _**

**_Please Read and Review. Comments are always welcome. _**

**_Stay tuned for the next chapter coming soon. MRG_**


	17. Northern Fury and the Stake of Apollo

**_And another much longer chapter. Hope you will enjoy, several more secrets are revealed and yet much still remains hidden. I do promise to update the next chapter sooner._**

**_Read and Review or just Read )MRG_**

* * *

"A nail?" Sanjay asked numbly, taking the object from Hana's outstretched hand, looking at the perfectly sharp crescent.

"But whose is it?" Hana asked, trying to look into his eyes but Sanjay continued to look at the godly object before him.

"It must be mine," he replied, scolding himself for sounding so unsure, "no one else could have scratched me."

"But it cannot be you, look at your fingers, your nails are even and besides that, this one is a different shade," Hana got up, inadvertently making Sanjay fidget and hope that she would drop the subject or suffer the cruel punishments of Eris which would be far worse than the last encounter. "You must have gotten this when…when Khadija got hurt, but who gave it to you?"

Sanjay sighed, hoping that this was the end of Hana's questions because he could already sense the faint perfume of Eris' robes. "Who knows, a god if I am lucky or unlucky. We were all frozen for some time"

"Frozen?" Hana asked in puzzlement. "Why frozen?"

The perfume only Sanjay could smell began to get stronger and he began to mentally berate himself for adding an extra detail that would only make Hana more curious.

"Frozen because Khadija held her breath, she must have stopped breathing in to breathe out when we were all frozen by some god, and when we were released she was breathless and gasping."

"Oh…I wish there was a way we could know what happened"

The hairs on Sanjay's neck stood up as he felt Eris right behind him. This was his last chance to steer Hana away from danger, to save her from Eris' hands.

"It will come in time Hana." Sanjay said, relieved to see Hana shaking her head in agreement. "In time, everything will be revealed."

"You are right, it's useless to waste energy and time on that which is so insignificant. We have bigger adventures ahead. I will go check on Khadija."

As soon Hana walked into the house a slow fog began to stream from all directions and Sanjay knew, without a doubt that Eris wanted to talk.

"Insignificant? She calls my actions insignificant?!" Eris screamed out, her features becoming feral as she paced in front of her slave. "But I must applaud you, my little beaux, you did well to save her from me only to giver her to me later…you are such a tease!" She giggled but to him it sounded more like knives cutting his heart. "Oh don't look so pained. I came to help"

Eris produced a wooden flute from within her flowing sleeve.

"What is that?"

"Syrinx, a flute from Pan, the shepherd-god. When lips touch this instrument, it will emit two varying sounds, affecting the people and creatures that are not directly holding onto the wielder of the instrument. When a man blows into this flute it will emit a piercing cry, causing in his victims a sense of irrational fear, panic. When a woman blows into this flute, it will emit a siren's song, and all victims will fall in love with her, so make sure that only you are blowing into the flute. We wouldn't want any accidents would we."

"No, we wouldn't. Here is you missing piece of the nail" Sanjay replied icily, taking the flute from the goddess.

"Keep it. Bury it in soil or sand and I will come, but use it wisely. You were warned and now….. "she said her finger tracing his jaw, her lips nearing his "how about a kiss?"

Sanjay pulled away from her, doing his best to ignore her amused grin. "I need to get ready."

"Remember what you promised me my little beaux," she whispered.

The fog disappeared, with it Eris. Aeolus, keeper of the winds, finally released the northern wind, replacing the warmth of the western wind that kept the illusion of peace in the land where mortals lived. The cold gust thrashed the trees whose leaves began to circle as it violently and relentlessly moved further, rattling the doors, sweeping through Petros' house and pens, scaring his sheep. But it was not the wind which grasped everyone's attention; it was Petros' petrified call for help.

* * *

Ishkandra began to slowly regain consciousness hanging limply on the she spear in Hades' hall, brief phrases entering her mind but nothing really making sense as she still had yet to regain herself in the state that hovered between life and death.

Leto smiled to Hades across the gracious table, "Thank you for your invitation."

"Always a pleasure to have you here my dear Leto. Do tell me news of my brother and the other Gods, I haven't any since Persephone left to see her mother."

"Oh not much has happened. Zeus was off on another escapade and Hera was right behind him, eager to punish the poor girl he managed to seduce. Hephaestus has been inspired by some muses since Aphrodite is off with Mars again. He has been making very beautiful jewelry for everyone. Take a look."

Leto held out her hand, the loose sleeve of her robe falling back to reveal a jeweled bracelet that shined brightly as if the sun were right above it.

"That is quite beautiful."

"He's given Artemis some charmed, silver tipped arrows, and Apollo received a charmed golden stake. What he will use it for, I have no idea, but it is a very beautiful piece, depicting the return of Cassandra, the Trojan prophetess with Agamemnon himself and their two sons, with the murderous Clytemnestra and Aegisthus ready to strike."

"Cassandra? Cassandra" Hades mumbled, "That sounds familiar. Isn't she the girl you fancied Apollo?"

Apollo growled, scoffing his sister's brief giggle at the memory of her brother almost begging the virgin priestess to be his lover.

Leto interceded "She was a mortal with a bad heart. She took the gift but refused to pay the price, so her end was just."

"I wouldn't call it justice mother." Apollo grumbled putting his cup of nectar down, idly fiddling with a grape on his plate, "I wanted to punish her with the gift she received but the fates punished her more than I ever wanted."

"Don't whine about her Apollo, centuries have passed, you should have forgotten her by now."

A soft moan escaped from what looked like a statue draped by the armory display, where the sharpest spears stood out at various angles like defensive soldiers surrounded by the enemy.

"What was that?" Apollo asked, getting up from his chair.

"I was going to save this for later but since you are standing right beside it. Go on; lift the veil that's hiding your gift."

Ishkandra's being began to come alive in the presence of the healing god beside her and the first thing her mind could sense as he lifted the veil was the brightness of the room and the immeasurable pain of having a spear run through her.

Her chest rose and fell in rapid succession with her desperate gasps for air as her body began to involuntarily go into shock, despite her mind telling her that this could not be the end of her life.

"Ishkandra!" a voice that sounded distant, growled and she flinched, whimpering in pain from her sudden movement when the owner's hand cupped her cheek.

"She's half dead…"the voice continued, "and yet she is not dying. How did you do this uncle?"

Hades rose from his chair, joining Apollo by Ishkandra's side, watching with almost bitter amusement as she struggled in pain while Artemis silently clenched her fists in anger.

"Her thread of life is hidden," Hades simply replied.

"But who could do such a thing? Did you?" Leto asked hesitantly.

"Yes," Hades laughed, stroking Ishkandra's hair. "Right now, you can cut her up into pieces and put her head on you plate Apollo and she will not die, she will be in great pain but she will be like that old man from Kerkira whose head kept talking even after the bandits chopped it off. Hmm, I had to test it on someone before she fell into my hands." He murmured smelling her hair. "Still smells just as sweet as the day I saw her"

Apollo waved a hand in front of her eyes but frowned when he saw no reaction.

"She cannot see us?"

"She does see you, all of us in fact but the pain she is experiencing right now is overwhelming all her senses, so all she see is pain. Although your presence, Apollo, has brought her back to consciousness, whereas before she was just limply hanging off this spear. Think about this; if your presence revives her enough to feel agonizing pain, what would a simple touch on the shoulder do to her?"

"I have something better than that in mind." Apollo cupped Ishkandra's face, turning it to him so her panicked eyes fell upon his. His thumbs lightly trailed where twin trails of tears flowed before his immortal lips collapsed upon hers in an all consuming kiss that caused her to gasp. His mouth claimed hers with furious desire, demanding that she surrender to his will as a deep groan echoed in his chest. But would she surrender? The thought lingered in his mind for a while but dissipated when he renewed his conquest of her smooth lips. He couldn't believe his luck in finding her here, just as Eris said and to even make things better, he didn't have to fight anyone to claim Ishkandra as his especially Ishkandra herself. One hand trailed down her neck, smoothing her skin while the other tangled in her hair and kept her head steady. The only problem he could foresee was his sister, Artemis and perhaps the double crossing Eris herself when it came time for her to execute the plan she failed to share with him. Apollo's aura began to fill Ishkandra with life until her eyes snapped open, their green depths no longer covered by fog of pain.

The blood staining Ishkandra's body began to evaporate, the wound shrinking and with it the pain. Instinctively, following Apollo's lead, Ishkandra's hands slowly made their way to his chest, smoothing his skin until they wrapped themselves around his powerful neck. Only when Apollo's lips left to skim her neck, giving her a love bite did she fully wake up and to her horror realize that the god was gladly trying to take that which she had denied him previously and still refused. She had to get away from his touch or she felt that would fall into an area not her own and drown in his passion.

Apollo's hands began to somewhat clumsily move around her body when Ishkandra grabbed his long hair and roughly pulled his head back.

"I told you No before Apollo," she whispered with emphasis, watching as his lust for her slowly disappeared to be replaced with anger at the interruption. "Just because I was unable to fend you off, did not give you permission to take what you wanted," she said releasing him, watching as he took a small step back, glaring at her will. She was no longer submissive and waiting for him to do what he pleased but it didn't mean that he couldn't hurt her pride just a little while she denied him what he wanted.

"You weren't complaining just a moment ago when my hands were tracing your curves and besides you should thank me"

"Thank you?! For what?"

"For bringing you back to consciousness, instead of a whimpering mess," he smirked as Ishkandra frowned at his statement, obviously unable to recollect the events that happened between the times she lost consciousness and regained it. "Take a look my bird," he said, his finger lightly trailing the curve of her stomach, "No blood and no pain in the way you are attached to the spear right now, but if you move, some pain will return." He roughly grabbed her arms and pulled her forward on the spear making her scream out in shock. "You see, pain."

"What do you want Apollo?" She finally said after taking several shaky breaths to steady herself.

"I want to help. I will release you, heal your wounds and come to your aid when you need it…"

Ishkandra snorted and rolled her eyes in dismissal of the almost innocent look on his face.

"What are the stakes then?"

"So distrusting" Apollo laughed, half amused, half surprised.

"Wise," she corrected him.

"Just one," he grinned, roughly pulling her completely off the spear before she could register what happened. Ishkandra gasped painfully as she felt cold tip of the golden stake that had been hanging off his belt cruelly replace the spear before air had even a chance to torment her wounded flesh. "This is no ordinary stake at that," he continued holding her steady in a tight embrace even as her nails dug into his immortal flesh and spilled some of his immortal blood. "There is only one woman who can remove this…you need to find Cassandra"

* * *

**_Buahaha...what is with Apollo's obsession with Cassandra? And why is Artemis so mad?_**

**_More coming soon,_**

**_MRG_**


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